WESTFIELD, Ind. – The Indianapolis Colts today announced the team's 2024 Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellows – Ashley "Smoke" Pierre and Tim Sanders. Pierre will assist with the defense, while Sanders will work with the offense.
Pierre is entering his first season as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He was a linebacker intern with the Los Angeles Rams during the 2023 offseason. Pierre spent nine years (2015-23) at Irvington (N.J.) High School, including the last eight seasons as head coach. In 2021, he was named the New Jersey State Coach of the Year after leading Irvington to its first state championship in school history. Pierre also spent time as defensive coordinator/assistant head coach at Colombia (N.J.) High School (2014) and Barringer (N.J.) High School (2010-13). He served as head spring track coach (2012-13) and inside linebackers coach (2008-09) at Alfred State College. Pierre earned his master's degree in addiction counseling from Capella University in 2012 and his bachelor's degree in criminal justice and criminology from the University of Rhode Island in 2008. He played linebacker at Rhode Island (2006-07) after beginning his career at Alfred State College.
Sanders is entering his third season as an offensive analyst working with the quarterbacks at Oklahoma State. In 2021, he was an offensive quality control coach working with the quarterbacks and wide receivers at Appalachian State. Sanders served as a Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellow with the Pittsburgh Steelers during 2021 training camp, where he assisted with the quarterbacks. From 2018-20, he was the offensive coordinator and lead assistant (quarterbacks) at Anderson University. In 2017, Sanders was an offensive graduate assistant at West Virginia where he assisted with the wide receivers. He was the offensive coordinator at Danville (Ind.) Community High School in 2016. Sanders earned his master's degree in sports coaching from West Virginia (2021) and his bachelor's degree in public relations from Franklin College (2015). He attended Pike High School in Indianapolis.
The Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship provides NFL coaching experience to talented minority college coaches, high school coaches and former players. Designed as a vocational tool to increase the number of full-time NFL minority coaches, all 32 NFL clubs have participated since its inception in 1987.
