In the past, there were way too many white retreads being given multiple opportunities, while promising black coaches were passed over time and time again.
That hasn’t been true in years, and while no black coaches were hired this year, I don’t see any blatantly bad hires, nor do I see any top black coordinators who were passed over.
Lovie Smith will have other opportunities, and I’ll be very surprised if he isn’t a head coach again in the near future.
So, I’m not worried about minority coaching in the NFL.
The NCAA, on the other hand, remains a disgrace. The number of minority college coaches is absolutely pitiful.
We’re still not talking about owners refusing to hire black people because they hate blacks. We’re talking about making sure black candidates get opportunities, which historically they have not. Based on the way coaches get promoted and hired, I think actual steps are needed. Just throwing the door open doesn’t cut it. The issue here is the old boys’ network.
I think there are only five or six black coordinators in the league. Interestingly all of them are defensive coordinators except for Jim Caldwell, who became OC for the Ravens in December.
I think the institutional nature of the problem is what makes the Rooney rule necessary. The list of Black NFL head coaches in the modern era reads as follows:
Art Shell 1989
Dennis Green 1992
Ray Rhodes 1995
Tony Dungy 1996 (Worked for Dennis Green)
Herman Edwards 2001 (Worked for Tony Dungy)
Marvin Lewis 2003
Lovie Smith 2004 (Worked for Tony Dungy)
Terry Robiskie 2004*
Romeo Crennel 2005
Mike Tomlin 2007 (Worked for Tony Dungy)
Emmitt Thomas 2007* (Worked for Ray Rhodes)
Mike Singletary 2008** (Works for Leslie Frazier)
Jim Caldwell 2009 (Worked for Tony Dungy)
Raheem Morris 2009
Perry Fewell 2009* (Worked for Lovie Smith)
Leslie Frazier 2010* (Worked for Tony Dungy, Marvin Lewis)
Eric Studesville 2010*
Hue Jackson 2011 (Worked for Marvin Lewis)
indicates interim status
The fact that 5 of the 18 Black head coaches in the modern era all worked for one guy shows how incestuous the NFL coaching pool is, and why it’s so hard for minorities to break in.
I seriously doubt it’s as simple as cultural, but I wouldn’t eliminate culture as a factor.
Something I think is interesting is that there is a good mix of white/black on offensive/defensive lines, but I don’t think I remember seeing too many (any?) white cornerbacks.
Who said it was a Black person screaming racism? More importantly, what if they are pointing out actual racism? Either way, I think people can draw their own conclusions about your comments on race.
You need to look normalize by class. Members of the “underclass”, whether white or black, are less likely to be good coaching candidates than members of the middle class. If a disproportionate percentage of whites in college and pro football come from middle class backgrounds as compared to minority players, that would account for the former being over-represented in the coaching ranks.
You forgot Jason Sehorn.
But your observation is valid. And it’s because cornerbacks are the ultimate speed position.
Even among wide receivers, ISTM that whites are more likely to be “possession” type receivers like Chrebet or Welker, versus speed-burner deep threats.
IMO posts like this miss the point. The issue is stereotyping, not antipathy.
Granted that owners or GMs are not going to deliberately choose a worse coach because they don’t like people with that skin color. But the assessment of whether someone would make a good coach is a very subjective one. It’s not like you can check the guy’s stats. So stereotypes can have a very significant impact in this judgment.
Unfortunately, that last part is precisely what their objections sound like. If no black coaches were hired, the rule isn’t working. That is what it sounds like. So, since it is now assumed that such a situation exists where slots are reserved like the “black seat” on the Supreme Court, which teams are now considered to have the “black coach” position? Having hired Mike Tomlin, are the Steelers now bound to replace him with another black coach 10 years from now when he retires?
These are dangerous waters for everybody. The coaches are dancing around it but you can see that they want to say it’s racism, and nobody can really say anything about it because the lack of minority hires simply confirms it and therefore it can’t be argued against. What a mess.
I would argue rather that they are saying, “you can’t just interview some black guy and meet the spirit of the rule”. You’re supposed to actually search for a qualified black candidate and interview him.
Speaking as a Giants fan, I may be biased. But I will note this:
Normally, the offensive and defensive coordinators of a Super Bowl winning team get a lot of attention as potential head coaches. But according to Peter King, The Giants’ African-American defensive coordinator Perry Fewell didn’t even get an INTERVIEW for head coaching spots this year or last.
IF that’s true, that’s mind-blowing. Even if every NFL team had a Klansman for a GM, and was just going through the motions of interviewing black men as a formality, wouldn’t you think SOMEBODY would think to interview the black man who ran the defense that just shut down Tom Brady in the Super Bowl?
I’m not even saying Fewell is an ideal choice for a head coaching job. But not even a token interview by one of the MANY teams that were required to interview a minority candidate???
I was going to post Nick Saban’s opinion, but I can’t seem to find it. IIRC he thought that colleges should add another graduate assistant position that would have to be black/minority.
Assumming my recollection is mostly correct, ISTM that, if we feel the need to force racial equity, it would make more sense to start at the bottom instead of just working at the very top.
those who say or imply that the percent of black players in any sport should be reflected in the coaching ranks are ignoring the fact that owners want to win and will always want to hire the best coach for their team, just as they ignore race when hiring the best players for their team.
that said, it seems to me that some franchises are whiter than others in the NBA and NFL.
Maybe the owners noticed they only got 33 sacks with such a wealth of defensive line talent and finished second to last in yards allowed.
I do find it ironic that some folks hold up the Rooney Rule as a great accomplishment in reducing the retreads yet are also upset Lovie didn’t get another go around.
He’s unusual in that coaches who go 10-6 usually don’t get fired. I thought “retread” was reserved for coaches with mediocre records who got additional jobs because they were inoffensive and a known quantity.
In fairness, Bill Belichick looked like a retread after his unsuccessful term as coach of the Cleveland Browns. So did a lot of other guys who eventually proved themselves.
But your point is well taken. Why weren’t WHITE fans in Atlanta furious in 1987 when the Falcons gave the head coaching job to Marion Campbell, who’d gone 6-19 as the Falcons head coach a decade earlier??? Could even bigoted fans have believed he was a better choice than Tony Dungy?