On Thursday, the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos announced their new head coaches, and despite the rumors and initial interest, Brian Flores, Jim Caldwell, or any Black coach on the planet were not part of their plans.
Instead, the teams went with Colts’ defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and Packers’ offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, respectively.
And so it begins, it being the frustrating hiring process for Black NFL head coaches.
Despite the lack of speed, this year’s hiring period feels eerily similar to Black Monday in 2021 where five white coaches and one Muslim-American coach (Robert Saleh) were hired at warp speed.
Six of the seven vacancies were filled in a few days and not one went to a Black coach. It wasn’t until a week later that the Texans finally broke rank and hired David Culley.
The backlash was swift and just. It was infuriating to fans and humiliating to Black head coaching candidates who barely got a sniff at a job.
Fast forward a year and the league’s nine openings, including the Saints after Sean Payton decided to step away, now stands at seven.
Literally one year after essentially being blanked, Black head coaching candidates are, once again, being overlooked and Mike Tomlin remains the sole Black NFL head coach.
It’s flabbergasting to think that one year ago we had only one new Black head coach, and now he’s gone, another victim on the Black head coaching cleanup man list.
This year the pipeline has cultivated a wealth of qualified Black head coaching candidates. Yet “miraculously”, the process has moved at tortoise-like speed. It’s an interesting phenomenon and/or coincidence.
Or is it?
Continue reading over at First and Pen.
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