The Colts on Monday announced Bryan Bing and Junior Collins as the team's 2023 Tony Dungy Diversity Coaching Fellows. As full-time members of the Colts' coaching staff, Bing will be the defensive Dungy Fellow and Collins the offensive Dungy Fellow.
The Tony Dungy Diversity Coaching Fellowship was established by the Colts in 2022 to hire diverse and talented football coaches to full-time, year-long coaching positions, providing opportunities to gain valuable experience as they progress in their careers. Qualified candidates are evaluated and interviewed by a selection committee composed of Dungy, the Irsay family, general manager Chris Ballard, head coach Shane Steichen and other members of the Colts' coaching staff and football operations team.
"The opportunity (the Colts) allow to come in, be a full-time coach and work the entire year day in and day out – it's truly a blessing," Collins said. "Very thankful and grateful to this organization — it's already a tremendous organization — to provide that opportunity for minorities. I think it's extremely important and it's great for the game, and it's great for the ones that have come before us, the ones that are in it now and the ones to be."
Bing and Collins each gained coaching experience at the college level before joining the Colts.
Bing spent the last two seasons as Wofford's defensive line coach (2021-2022). He's also had stints as a graduate assistant at Pitt (2019-2020, working with the defensive line), Kent State (2017) and Heidelberg University (2016). Bing, too, is no stranger to the Indianapolis area, having served as Butler's defensive line coach in 2018.
Bing played linebacker for Methodist (N.C.) University, where he totaled 316 tackles and was named a two-time All-South Region selection, a three-time All-USA South Athletic Conference selection and a five-time USA South All-Academic team selection. He earned a bachelor's in criminal justice from Methodist in 2015 and a master's in sport recreation and management from Kent State in 2018.
As a coach, Bing said he's influenced by his upbringing in a single-parent home and his journey across some of the lower levels of college football.
"That's a big part of my life, why I do things and how I've come to be who I am today," Bing said. "Growing up, my mom showed me about hard work and keeping your faith first and building off of those two things, and how she just always did whatever she could to help me. That's part of the reason why I got into coaching is trying to help others and give back to other people."
Bing also spent a week in training camp with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022 as a Bill Walsh Diversity Fellow. Collins, too, was a Bill Walsh Diversity Fellow with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022.
Collins, a wide receiver, played his college ball at Mount Union and had training camp/practice squad stints with the Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers before spending four seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger Cats (2015-2017) and BC Lions (2018).
Collins began his coaching career in 2015 as an assistant with Seton Hall (2015); after his playing career concluded, he joined Marietta College as an assistant working with wide receivers (2019). He was brought on at his alma mater, Mount Union, in 2020 and has served as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator.
Collins said his coaching philosophy is centered around relationships, technique and details.
"Relationships are the most important — understanding, getting to know the guys, figuring out what they're about, how do they react, how do they learn," Collins said. "Building that relationship first and understanding that they're human and you got to care about them, so then ultimately get the best out to them if they know you deeply, truly care for them and not just what they can do on the field."
The Colts' 2022 Tony Dungy Diversity Fellows both were hired to full-time coaching positions after their fellowships concluded. Brent Jackson, the 2022 defensive Dungy Fellow, was hired by the Colts as a defensive quality control coach in 2023; Jamel Mutunga, the 2022 offensive Dungy Fellow, was hired earlier this year as an offensive assistant with the Carolina Panthers.
Bing and Collins now hope to follow in Jackson and Mutunga's footsteps and continue the success of the Tony Dungy Diversity Fellowship program.
"That's the goal, that's the dream," Collins said. "Just put my best foot forward each and every day making sure I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing."
"I'm very grateful to the Colts organization for creating that position, because it gives a guy like me — and a guy like Junior, a guy like Brent, a guy like Jamel — an opportunity to get our feet in the door," Bing said, "but at the same time be able to learn and connect with people because there's so many people that wish to be in this position that can't get in this position based off other factors."
