On Thursday, the coaches and coordinators were announced for the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl, the longest-running college all-star football game in the nation. Colts Harriet P. Irsay Fellow Isabel Diaz was selected as the Special Teams Coordinator for the East Team, and is the only woman to be named a coordinator or coach for the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl coaching staff.
Diaz is in her third season with the Colts as an Irsay Fellow, and was the inaugural Irsay Fellow in 2023. She assists Colts special teams coordinator Brian Mason and Sr. Assistant Special Teams Coach Joe Hastings with practice and game planning.
Prior to joining the Colts, Diaz participated in the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship with the Washington Commanders during the 2022 offseason and training camp, assisting primarily with the defensive backs. Diaz has also participated in the NFL Women's Forum at the NFL Scouting Combine multiple times; she met Colts Owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon at the forum in 2023 and was then offered the fellowship with the Colts.
Diaz, who earned her bachelor's degree in sport and coaching science with a minor in sport management from Oklahoma State, was an undergraduate assistant for the football team from 2021-23, working with the defensive scout team, creating practice scripts, helping with game planning and charting plays on game days. Diaz also worked as a videographer for the school's football and women's soccer programs from 2019-21.
The East-West Shrine Bowl provides an opportunity for the best senior collegiate football players around the country to showcase their talents in front of NFL representatives, and it does the same for coaches. Coaches and coordinators for both teams are selected from current NFL assistant coaches whose teams did not advance to the playoffs.
"The East-West Shrine Bowl is not only a showcase for tremendous athletes who have a dream of playing at the next level, it is also a venue for upwardly mobile coaches in the NFL," NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said. "This is an opportunity to further develop, evaluate and showcase our assistant coaches who may be our next generation of head coaches."
The game will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas and will be televised nationally on NFL Network.
