Or people on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
I don’t think there is an “and the like.” I think you just named them all.
The NFL is the ultimate Old Boys’ Network, and getting minorities in its hierarchy is proving (and will prove) much harder to do than getting a black QB under center.
“Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known” - Michel Gyquem de Montaigne
There are actually a lot more black quarterbacks in Division I college football than you’d think. The problem is that most of the colleges that have black quarterbacks run a triple-option offense or another type of offense in which the QB runs the ball a lot. The QB doesn’t get two or three years of experience in a passing offense, like he would at Notre Dame or Michigan, and NFL teams are looking for guys who can throw the ball. Kordell Stewart is a good example of this–a guy who is great when he can run, throw, or pitch, but not so great when all he can do is throw or scramble. Rumors say that the Steelers are even thinking of trying Stewart out at defensive back–maybe you Pittsburgh guys know a lot more about this than I do. But my point is that a lot of black guys play QB in college offenses that don’t train them to be NFL-type passers.
Is there some racism here? Probably, and I imagine that the problem is that some schools don’t recruit the more versatile young black QBs because they’re looking for more of a pure passer rather than an all-around athlete. Your white QB is likely to have been groomed ever since he was 13 years old as a pure passer in a suburban high school. Your black guy is likely to have played all over the field and been given the QB job his junior or senior year at an inner-city or rural HS because he was the best athlete they had, so they put him in the key job. Then the colleges that pass recruit the white guy and the colleges that run go with the black guy.
I hope this makes sense and that I didn’t do an Al Campanis on myself. I honestly think that this is true and I am not trying to deal in stereotypes.
Good point. Pete Carroll went 8-8 in New England and also got fired. JJ never brought up the fact that a white coach was canned for the same record. Pete was a bad coach , Ray was black. As long as JJ is around things will never not be judged on race - he has a vested interest.
I was not a Ray RHodes fan- I thought he did a lousy job as head coach of the Eagles. Still, I think it’s unfair that he was fired after only one season in Green Bay.
The problem is, Packer fans and Packer management don’t understand that THIS Packer team is not the same one that went to two SUper Bowls. Mike Holmgren was a rat who deserted a sinking ship. The Packers have lost a lot of talent (due to age, injuries and free agency), and they play in a VERY tough division. They were BOUND to fall several notches! Indeed, I’d argue that 8-8 was a pretty GOOD record, considering that they’re just not a very talented team any more.