New Foundation in Pasadena Helps Injured College Football Players Transition to Coaching

A new nonprofit foundation headquartered in Old Pasadena has launched to support college football players whose careers end prematurely due to injury by helping them become coaches. 

The Gridiron Coaches Foundation, which announced its formation on Tuesday, said it will provide season-long financial grants to selected players to serve as coaching interns. Eligible athletes must be nominated by their college coaching staff and undergo an evaluation to ensure they have the leadership skills and moral character necessary for coaching, according to the foundation. 

“Football coaches are on the front line of the battle for the hearts and minds of the young men in our society,” said Super Bowl-winning NFL coach John Harbaugh, who announced the foundation’s creation. 

Selected individuals will receive the Gridiron Coaches Football Grant, which offers financial support to work as a coach intern for an entire season. The program is designed to help former players remain connected to the sport while developing new career skills. 

“By supporting selected players in transitioning to coaching, we have an opportunity to mold our country’s young men who are our future business and political leaders,” said Rowland Hanson, co-founder of the foundation. Hanson is known for building global brands including Microsoft, Neutrogena and Bowflex over a career spanning more than 50 years. 

The foundation’s leadership team includes Shawn Slocum, a Super Bowl champion with more than 30 years of professional and collegiate coaching experience, and Bob Beaudine, recognized by Sports Illustrated as the “Most Influential Man in Sports” for his 45 years recruiting top coaches across college and professional programs. 

Contemporary Services Corporation is the foundation’s inaugural corporate sponsor. Its founder and CEO, Damon Zumwalt, was a UCLA student-athlete on the wrestling and football teams when a career-ending injury cut short his football playing days. 

“We are honored to be the first corporate sponsor of the Gridiron Coaches Foundation,” Zumwalt said in a press release. “My UCLA football playing days were cut short by a participation-ending injury. It was devastating at the time, so I empathize with the impact this can have on a young man that wants to stay in the game, a choice not afforded to me.” 

The foundation also partnered with the world premiere of Nothing But A Winner, a new documentary chronicling the rise of the University of Alabama football program under coaches Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban. The film premiered in theaters on July 31. 

Caleb Castille, the documentary’s producer and a series regular on CBS’s NCIS: Los Angeles, reflected on how championship values translated into life success. 

“Playing under Coach Saban at Alabama gave me the foundation to take those core values into whatever area of life I chose to pursue after football,” Castille said, according to the foundation. “Through my work as an actor in Hollywood and producing this film, I am proud to be sharing these values with a wide audience.”

The establishment of the Gridiron Coaches Foundation adds to Pasadena’s rich sports tradition. For more visit https://gridironcoachesfoundation.org/