The Cardinals organization has stood for diversity and equality since becoming an NFL franchise a century ago.
Owner Bill Bidwill created the Bidwill Coaching Fellowship program in 2015 to provide individuals with more coaching opportunities at the highest level regardless of gender or race.
The team announced Thursday the newest fellow: Central Washington University's offensive coordinator/quarterback coach, Connor Senger.
Senger will help coach the Cardinals' quarterbacks room of Kyler Murray, Colt McCoy and Trace McSorley.
Senger is the fifth member of the fellow program, following Levon Kirkland, Terry Allen, Don Shumpert (who was kept on the coaching staff as an offensive assistant) and Jordan Hogan.
The NFL put in a new rule this week requiring all teams to have at least one minority/female on the offensive staff, although the Cardinals have had at least one for a number of years. The only fellow to have worked with the defense was Kirkland. The Cardinals also have running backs coach James Saxon, wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson and Shumpert on staff.
Senger spent the previous two years at North Dakota State University as the offensive quality control coordinator and helped the Bison capture the 2021 FCS National Championship.
After beginning his coaching career in 2017 at the University of UW-Oshkosh, where he played quarterback, Senger became the quarterback's coach at Carroll University in Wisconsin and running back coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater the following two seasons.
The fellowship was one of several moves Bidwill made during his ownership tenure before passing away in 2019. The organization hired Adele Harris in 1979 as the Cardinals' director of community relations, making her the first African-American female executive in the NFL. Bob Wallace was hired three years later as the first African American responsible for contract negotiations for an NFL Team. The club then hired Rod Graves and Dennis Green in 2004 to form the league's first African-American general manager and head coaching duo.
Current Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has continued his father's works since taking over the ownership role. The league honored Michael with the "Paul J. Tagliabue Award" in 2019 for demonstrating integrity and leadership in career development opportunities for minority candidates and advocacy for diversity on the league and club level.
