Coming up, we were told that if you work hard, sacrifice, prove yourself and produce results, you will reap the rewards you deserve.
Those were the values that spurred our careers. But for Black people and People of Color, an unwritten rule was added to the equation.
You will work twice as hard to achieve half as much in twice the time.
When my father told me that as a teenager, I didn’t quite understand it. I thought if I applied myself, did the work and achieved, I would be rewarded.
Just imagine if I had wanted to be an NFL head coach.
If so, I would probably be writing this story about myself and my fellow Black coaches who were also passed over.
Sound familiar? It should.
This is the reality Black coaches in the NFL have faced for decades, but even more so within the last few years.
Black NFL Coaching History
In 2006, three years after the Rooney Rule was instituted, the league seemed to be heading in the right direction. There were seven Black head coaches, four more than three years prior. After a few years of fluctuations, that number reached seven again in 2017. These were hopeful signs of things to come.
But then things soured and the hiring pace of Black NFL head coaches regressed alarmingly.
At one point, the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin stood alone in a room of 31 other coaches who didn’t look like him.
For a league in which nearly 70% of the players are Black, that’s an embarrassment.
The only thing more embarrassing was the treatment some Black head coaches received.
Anthony Lynn was hired by the Chargers in 2017. In his first two seasons, the Chargers went 9-7 and 12-4 with one playoff victory. The next two seasons the team was plagued by injuries, but they fought through to finish 7-9 in 2020. If a few plays went their way, they could have easily finished 9-7 or 10-6. Most importantly, the Chargers drafted franchise quarterback Justin Herbert. Yet after one year with Herbert, Lynn, who went 33-31 in four seasons, was fired and replaced by Brandon Staley, who has gone 19-15 in his first two seasons with one playoff loss.
Steve Wilks was hired by the Cardinals in 2018 and handed a talent-challenged roster. The defense was depleted and Josh Rosen was the starting QB. At the end of the season, Wilks was fired and replaced by Kliff Kingsbury. Then Arizona drafted Kyler Murray, added DeAndre Hopkins and gave Kingsbury four years to build a contender, which he ultimately failed to do. That’s talent and time never afforded to Wilks.
Fast forward four years and Wilks, named Carolina’s interim head coach after Matt Rhule started out 1-4 and was fired, led the Panthers to a 7-10 record. For his success, he was passed over in favor of Frank Reich, who was fired by the Colts after starting 3-5-1 last season.
And what about Brian Flores, who I have written about extensively?
Hired by the Dolphins in 2019, Flores first cleaned up the mess left by Adam Gase. After going 5-11, Flores led Miami to 10-6 and 9-8 seasons, becoming the team’s first coach since Dave Wanstedt (2002, 2003) to post back-to-back winning seasons. Yet that wasn’t enough as Flores was shockingly fired in favor of Mike McDaniel, who was then given talent that Flores was never gifted.
Then there’s the infuriating hiring pattern of the Houston Texans.
Continue reading over at First and Pen.
This content has been brought to you by First and Pen in partnership with TheHub.News. First and Pen “amplifies local sports stories from voices of color to the national conscience…”
