Fewell was the interim head coach for the Bills in 2009 and Panthers in 2019. The following year the team was 11-5 and Smith won Coach of the Year. Raheem Morris was an NFL head coach with two separate teams from 2009 to 2020, including leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011, with the first three seasons of that tenure including double-duty as the teams defensive coordinator. I think that might be part of the answer to why it exists, but I certainly don't think it's the entire answer. Lynn was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers the following season and served in that capacity for four years through the 2020 season. To be sure, the NFL has had more than 500 head coaches over the course of more than a century of competition. Tony Dungy has been coaching in the NFL for more than 40 years, including when he landed his first head coaching gig in 1996 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which he led for 13 seasons. Tony Dungy has been coaching in the NFL for more than 40 years, including when he landed his first head coaching gig in 1996 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which he led for 13 seasons. and over the next 13 seasons, which included seven years with the Indianapolis Colts, he racked up 148 total victories. Singletary coached the 49ers from 2008-2010, totaling 18 wins and 22 losses in three seasons. All Rights Reserved. After inheriting a 4-12 team led by Greg Schiano, Smith only lasted two seasons after going 8-24. The fact is that Flores claims are hardly unique and help bolster critics suspicions that the NFL is intentionally trying to keep its head coaching ranks as white as possible despite the leagues so-called Rooney Rule, a policy that requires teams to interview at least one diverse candidate when looking to hire new coaches. Mel Tucker was named the interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the final five games of the 2011 season. The other part of it is I think from my view, there are more women in front offices now as well, and although a very small minority, more women in the coaching. filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL claiming there is racial discrimination in the hiring process, the NFL is an organization akin to slavery,, Heres Every Black Head Coach In NFL History, According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, according to the Pro Football History website, according to the pro football hall of fame website, according to the Pro Football Reference website, coached the Cincinnati Bengals for 16 seasons from 2003 to 2018, named interim head coach of theAtlanta Falcons in the middle of the 2007 season, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers for three seasons, NFL head coach with two separate teams from 2009 to 2020, a leading candidate for the Minnesota Vikings head coaching vacancy, Leslie Frazier was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013, Frazier interviewed for the Chicago Bears head coaching job, head coach for the Denver Broncos during the final four games of the 2010 season, Todd Bowles was a head coach in the NFL for five seasons, NFL head coach with two franchises for four seasons, Jackson claims the Browns incentivized losing, Anthony Lynn was a head coach in the NFL for two teams, reportedly a candidate for the Miami Dolphins head coaching job, Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Shell was the first Black head coach in the modern era of the NFL. Now-former Head Coach Brian Flores of the Miami Dolphins talks with an official during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on January 2, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. Below is a look at every Black coach thats been hired since then and a snapshot of their story. It featured powerful, experienced and successful Black coaches such as Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs OC), Todd Bowles, Byron Leftwich, James Franklin (Penn State HC), Leslie Frazier (Assistant HC/Defensive Coordinator, Bills), Vance Joseph (Defensive Coordinator, Cardinals), Jerod Mayo (Inside Linebackers, Patriots), Raheem Morris (Defensive Coordinator, Mike Singletary was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers for three seasons from 2008 to 2010. Download Our New Praise 107.9 Radio Mobile App For Your Smartphone! Fritz Pollard became the first Black head coach in NFL history after the Akron Pros appointed him as co-coach in 1921. There were five black NFL head coaches at the end of the 2022 season. Edwards spent eight seasons as a head coach in the NFL, running the Jets (2001-2005) and Chiefs (2006-2008). Thomas was the Falcons head coach for just four games before the team decided to hire someone else for the job in the offseason. Wilkes was not retained and Smith was fired. The Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin and the Tampa Buccaneers' Todd Bowles are the only current Black NFL head coaches. Your email will be shared with praisephilly.com and subject to its. Anytime you have to implement a rule to interview a black head coaching candidate or a minority head coaching candidate, that's admitting there's a problem. Jackson took over for Tom Cable, who went 8-8 in his final season with the team. 4. Art Shell became head coach of the then-Los Angeles Raiders in 1988, a job he held until 1994, after the franchise moved to Oakland, according to the Raiders website. Todd Bowles was a head coach in the NFL for five seasons, beginning with the Miami Dolphins in the 2011 season and four other seasons leading the New York Jets from 2015 to 2018. As of the time that this list was published, Morris was seen as a leading candidate for the Minnesota Vikings head coaching vacancy. Emmitt Thomas was named interim head coach of theAtlanta Falcons in the middle of the 2007 season after a sudden resignation left the position vacant. He went 36-30 during his tenure and has been replaced by a litany of coaches that havent been able to get the Lions to sniff the playoffs since he was fired. I think leadership's basic premise is can you get people to do things that they necessarily don't want to do just because of you? He had a long career in the NFL working his way up through the Pittsburgh Steelers organization and eventually becoming the only black general manager in the 60-year history of the Buffalo Bills. Were they invited to lead your team? Edwards was with the Chiefs for three seasons and compiled a 15-34 record that included a postseason loss to the Colts in his debut year. Emmitt Thomas was named interim head coach of theAtlanta Falcons in the middle of the 2007 season after a sudden resignation left the position vacant. He is currently the Bills' defensive coordinator. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. The Vikings went 15-1 that season and racked up 556 points, which set an NFL record at the time.. I'll break it down to even more simpler terms. The dearth of African American offensive NFL head coaches is both systemic and deep-rooted, owing in parts to networking practices, the embers of retrograde stereotypes and the lasting effects of . Brandt is a sports agent turned NFL executive who spent about 10 years with the Green Bay Packers. He was replaced by Zac Taylor who is currently 16-32 in three seasons. I can go down and down the line, there's no majority black owner in the NFL. Caldwell had an incredible debut season as a head coach, going 14-2 with the Colts on the way to an appearance in Super Bowl XLIV. He led the Oakland Raiders during the 2011 season and was the head coach for the Cleveland Browns from 2016 to 2018. Hue Jackson was an NFL head coach with two franchises for four seasons. That's USA Today's sports reporter Tyler Dragon, he's been writing about the NFL for close to a decade. Bowles was hired after Rex Ryans roller coaster ride with the Jets ended with a 4-12 finish in 2014. Like our content? Of the five head . The league in general is tough, but it is a lot tougher for people of color and minorities, and women. What's in it for interims? He compiled a 56-52 overall. Dennis Green took the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game. In 1921, Coach Pollard became the first African-American head coach in the NFL, coaching the Akron Pros. 20 Black NFL Coaches 20. Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 through the 2021 season, after which he was fired. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. That's what we'll be discussing today. If you like this show, write a review on Apple Podcast or wherever you're listening, and do me a favor, share it with a friend. As of the time that this list was published, Morris was seen as a leading candidate for the Minnesota Vikings head coaching vacancy. Mike Tomlin, Mike McDaniel, Todd Bowles, Lovie Smith, and interim head coach Steve Wilkes. Coaches[edit] Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2022 NFL season. Green was picked up in Arizona after Dave McGinnis had three consecutive losing seasons in the desert. Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 through the 2021 season, after which he was fired. Singletary went 5-4 as the interim coach to finish out the season. This is the NFL, a place where Black coaches get treated like third-class citizens. The NFL currently has three head coaches that are of African American origin. Bowles, an Elizabeth, New Jersey, native, was the Jets' head coach . In all, Dungy has a head coaching record of 148-79-0 and won the regular season games he coached at a rate of nearly 70%, according to the pro football hall of fame website. Coaching rumors are heating up with three openings created on Monday morning. Pittsburghs Mike Tomlin and Houstons David Culley are the lone Black head coaches in a league thats over 70 percent Black. Lovie Smith was a head coach with the Chicago Bears for eleven seasons from 2004 to 2012 before he was hired as thehead coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014to2015. Whaley is part of a group that launched One Global Culture Events, which helped minority candidates in pro sports connect with upper management. He was also named assistant head coach of the Jaguars for the 2012 season, according to the Pro Football History website. He is the current running backs coach for the Dolphins. In nine seasons in Chicago, Smith was 84-66 and made three postseason appearances including losing Super Bowl XLI to the Colts in the only matchup thats ever featured two Black coaches. Fritz Pollard became the first Black head coach in NFL history after the Akron Pros appointed him as co-coach in 1921. On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast:5 Things Sunday Host James Brown explores the NFL's Rooney rule which requires teams to interview minority coaches and staff when positions like head coach, general manager, and coordinator positions open. Specifically, Flores claims hes had multiple incidents of racial discrimination that involved several teams, as well as coaches and executives around the league. He ended his career with a 113-94 overall record. If you have to do something, then you're going to be fully invested in it as something that you chose to do. These days, he runs a sports law program at Villanova University and hosts the Business of Sports podcast. Now-former Head Coach Brian Flores of the Miami Dolphins talks with an official during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on January 2, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. Raheem Morris was an NFL head coach with two separate teams from 2009 to 2020, including leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011, with the first three seasons of that tenure including double-duty as the teams defensive coordinator. Emmitt Thomas was named interim head coach of theAtlanta Falcons in the middle of the 2007 season after a sudden resignation left the position vacant. To date, he has a 162-93 record, is the youngest coach in league history to win a Super Bowl, has Pittsburgh in the playoffs for the tenth time in his tenure, and is the only coach in league history to begin his career with 15 straight non-losing seasons. For perspectives sake, the NFL entered Black History Month 2022 with just one single Black head coach despite its vow a decade earlier to increase diversity among its head and assistant coaches. Don Shula holds the current records for regular season wins at 328 and combined regular and postseason wins at 347. He returned to coaching when he took the head job at Arizona State in 2017. Crennel was 6-10 in his first season and lasted four years in Cleveland with a 24-20 record. After all, they may be musing, isnt the NFL disproportionately made up of Black players? Of course, that type of logic is counterproductive and completely beside the point, what with the new racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Black head coach and alleging that the NFLs ownership is colluding to keep teams head coaches as white as possible. Specifically, Flores claims hes had multiple incidents of racial discrimination that involved several teams, as well as coaches and executives around the league. Dennis Greeen was the Vikings Head Coach from 1992 to 2001, and his 97 regular-season wins rank second in franchise history. He only coached eight total games, getting all three of his wins with Buffalo. Flores still has upcoming interviews for head coaching positions with at least two other teams, so, considering the public relations fiasco that his lawsuit is, chances are that pressure will result in him being hired. But as we see now, just like anything, people that have children and even to yourself, when someone says you have to do something, you're obviously automatically going to have a bias towards it. Green served as the head coach of the Vikings for 10 seasons (1992-2001), earning a playoff berth eight times. It attempted to address the historically low number of minorities in head coaching positions. Owners and front office people who are in charge of hiring, they found loopholes in the rule. Caldwell was only in Detroit for four seasons, but the Lions made two postseason appearances under him. That brings the total head-coaching jobs available to six, as the Las Vegas Raiders (Jon Gruden), Jacksonville Jaguars (Urban Meyer) and Denver Broncos (Vic Fangio) had fired their HCs prior to Black Monday. 20 years ago, the NFL adopted a policy known as the Rooney Rule. Revisiting Dolphins scandal. In 2017, we had a record eight minority head coaches entering the season: Chargers Anthony Lynn, Denver's Vance Joseph, Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin, Detroit's Jim. In all, Dungy has a head coaching record of 148-79-0 and won the regular season games he coached at a rate of nearly 70%, according to the pro football hall of fame website. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Whaley says women and minorities struggle to break through In this insular world. After leading the Buffalo Bills for one season in 2016. After all, they may be musing, isnt the NFL disproportionately made up of Black players? | Source: Wesley Hitt / Getty. Smith wasnt able to capture the magic he had in Chicago with Tampa Bay. The Chargers hired Lynn after Mike McCoy went 4-12 and 5-11 in his last two seasons. "Brush my teeth?" As a player, Ryans was a two-time Pro Bowler and is still the Texans all-time tackles leader. For so many reasons, DeMeco is everything we are looking for in a leader and coach for our organization, said Texans owner Cal McNair in a statement. and its alleged efforts at diversifying head coaching around the professional football league, its worth putting things in their proper perspective for folks who may be shrugging and wondering what the big deal is. He was then hired full-time and was 8-8 in his lone full season. After all, he'd led a Colts team in constant need of consistent . For some reason, fans of all genders and races were stunned that Flores was unemployed as if Ross doesnt have a long history of being a contradictory figure. He ended those two stints with an overall record of11-44-1. filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL claiming there is racial discrimination in the hiring process, the NFL is an organization akin to slavery,, According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, according to the Pro Football History website, according to the pro football hall of fame website, according to the Pro Football Reference website, coached the Cincinnati Bengals for 16 seasons from 2003 to 2018, named interim head coach of theAtlanta Falcons in the middle of the 2007 season, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers for three seasons, NFL head coach with two separate teams from 2009 to 2020, a leading candidate for the Minnesota Vikings head coaching vacancy, Leslie Frazier was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013, Frazier interviewed for the Chicago Bears head coaching job, head coach for the Denver Broncos during the final four games of the 2010 season, Todd Bowles was a head coach in the NFL for five seasons, NFL head coach with two franchises for four seasons, Jackson claims the Browns incentivized losing, Anthony Lynn was a head coach in the NFL for two teams, reportedly a candidate for the Miami Dolphins head coaching job, Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Singletary took over midseason for the 49ers after Mike Nolan was fired after starting the season 2-5. The NFL wants more, or so . He lost his single game with Buffalo and finished 33-31 with Los Angeles.