From wha tI’ve heard, it’s a little odder than that. Millen called several black candidates to offer an interview. But since they all knew Mariucci was the front-runner, they all asked Millen point blank, “Do I have a real shot at this job, or is this interview just a formality?”
Millen, apparently, chose not to lie, and admitted to them that the job was all but Mariucci’s. The black candidates, naturally, decided not to waste their time.
So, in this case, it appears that what Millen’s really being punished for is telling those black candidates the truth. If he’d lied to them, pretended they really had a shot, and gave them a token interview before hiring Mariucci, everything would’ve been fine.
I dislike this whole league approach, even though I know SOMETHING has to be done to encourage teams to hire more black coaches and executives. Thing is, Steve Mariucci is a capable coach with a solid record, and he’s a very worthy hire. What drives me nuts (and what infuriates black assistant coaches) is seeing mediocre retread hires.
Look, not all retreads are bad- I understand perfectly why the Cowboys hired Bill Parcells, why the Chargers hired Marty Schottenheimer, and why the Falcons hired Dan Reeves- all of those guys have a track record of success. But over the years, there have been WAY too many Caucasian mediocrities and failures who’ve been given multiple chances to be head coaches.
I mean, if I were Sherm Lewis or Ted Cottrell, I’d ve FURIOUS that guys like Dennis Erickson, Marion Campbell and Dan Henning have gotten second chances (wholly undeserved second chances, I believe) to be head coaches in the time I’d been waiting to get my first chance.