11 NFL teams have never had a Black head coach

[edjr 6,578]

https://sports.yahoo.com/more-third-black-nfl-players-064530658.html

 

Bills, Cowboys, Giants, Jaguars, Panthers, Rams, Ravens, Saints, Seahawks and Titans. 

NFL is raacccciiiiiiiiisssss!!!!!

Mor DEI, more rooney rulez!!!!

How many black GMs?

How many owners?!!!/$/$/!/$

[edjr 6,578]

must be no way to make this political 

[Hardcore troubadour 14,903]

I wish the Giants had hired one after Coughlin.  But I wouldn’t mind seeing Marcus Freeman get a shot after he wins a title with ND next year. 

[Big Guy 1,410]

How 'Bout Them COWBOYS!!! 

[cmh6476 1,009]

And Herm Edwards sucked

[Red White and Blue 81]

22 hours ago, edjr said:

Cowboys, Giants

Figures 

[edjr 6,578]

@EternalShinyAndChrome  really?

[EternalShinyAndChrome 3,828]

2 minutes ago, edjr said:

@EternalShinyAndChrome  really?

 

I thought it was pretty funny.

[edjr 6,578]

11 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

 

I thought it was pretty funny.

 

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,236]

Chargers went DEI, Anthony Lynn was the worst head coach they had since June Jones

 

[WhiteWonder 2,674]

Rooney rule is not DEI to me.  I am always in favor of equal opportunity. Opportunity being you have the chance to interview for a position and sell yourself and why you are the best choice. The Rooney rule does help with that, imo, and was around long before "DEI" was a buzzword/hot topic. 

You could argue it's a bit silly and some teams bring in minority candidates just to satisfy the rule, with no intention of hiring them... look at Mike Kafka of the Giants getting a handful of HC interviews this offseason . Giants suck but he's part puerto rican so he counts. 

But teams are not hiring black or minority head coaches to fill a quota

[WhiteWonder 2,674]

On 2/6/2025 at 6:16 PM, cmh6476 said:

And Herm Edwards sucked

I liked Herm a lot with the Jets. Jets fans tend to forget we were making the playoffs at about a 50% clip under him, before playoff expansion obviously... so that's a lot better than a lot of NFL teams could say.  I don't really remember what he did or how he was with KC but he was a passionate guy and I usually favor those types over the wet blanket Eric Mangini types. 

[squistion 1,940]

28 minutes ago, WhiteWonder said:

Rooney rule is not DEI to me.  I am always in favor of equal opportunity. Opportunity being you have the chance to interview for a position and sell yourself and why you are the best choice. The Rooney rule does help with that, imo, and was around long before "DEI" was a buzzword/hot topic. 

You could argue it's a bit silly and some teams bring in minority candidates just to satisfy the rule, with no intention of hiring them... look at Mike Kafka of the Giants getting a handful of HC interviews this offseason . Giants suck but he's part puerto rican so he counts. 

But teams are not hiring black or minority head coaches to fill a quota

Of course it isn't DEI. It is an opportunity to interview that a member of a minority group might not get otherwise. Even if it is just a formality to give the appearance of fairness, it could lead to something in the future if they make a good impression and if nothing else it should help them with future interviews. 

No NFL team has ever hired a Black or Latino head coach just to appear to be diverse or to help the cause of racial equality.

[WhiteWonder 2,674]

11 minutes ago, squistion said:

Of course it isn't DEI. It is an opportunity to interview that a member of a minority group might not get otherwise. Even if it is just a formality to give the appearance of fairness, it could lead to something in the future if they make a good impression and if nothing else it should help them with future interviews. 

No NFL team has ever hired a Black or Latino head coach just to appear to be diverse or to help the cause of racial equality.

Well, DEI was mentioned a few times in this thread, including the OP

and I would disagree with your last sentence. We have no way of knowing but I feel pretty confident that some teams have hired black or hispanic for the optics. 

[squistion 1,940]

1 minute ago, WhiteWonder said:

Well, DEI was mentioned a few times in this thread, including the OP

and I would disagree with your last sentence. We have no way of knowing but I feel pretty confident that some teams have hired black or hispanic for the optics. 

Yes, and I wasn't suggesting that you were the one to first bring it up, I was just agreeing with what you said.

As far as your second point is concerned, there is too much money at stake IMO for any team to to hire a minority coach just for the optics, as it won't increase ticket sales any or gain a wider viewing TV audience. 

 

[TBayXXXVII 2,480]

3 minutes ago, WhiteWonder said:

Well, DEI was mentioned a few times in this thread, including the OP

and I would disagree with your last sentence. We have no way of knowing but I feel pretty confident that some teams have hired black or hispanic for the optics. 

I believe OP is mocking the Rooney Rule and not that it's DEI.  I don't think anyone thinks the Rooney Rule IS about DEI because it doesn't require anyone to hire a non-white person, as you noted.

The only time DEI is mentioned in hiring (in this thread) , is with respect to just Anthony Lynn... which to me makes sense as his resume wasn't impressive and the Chargers are in the DEI capital of the world.

So, I would agree with your last statement.  We don't know for sure, but yeah, pretty confident some have been hired just because they were a minority.

[Tree of Knowledge 1,689]

Bengals paid their dues with 16 years of Marvin Lewis.  

[WhiteWonder 2,674]

14 minutes ago, squistion said:

As far as your second point is concerned, there is too much money at stake IMO for any team to to hire a minority coach just for the optics, as it won't increase ticket sales any or gain a wider viewing TV audience. 

 

It's all business. Each NFL team is a business and just like any business, generally tend to care about optics. They may not have to pretend to the same degree as a typical, publicly traded company, but I think they care. .. just think about the teams in sports who have changed their name or logo recently. 

Winning trumps everything, but if a few candidates are close I can easily see a team going minority to be able to say they went minority.  It's a good look for a struggling team.  Think Commanders and Ron Rivera. You don't think after all the Dan Snyder and Redskins stuff, that hiring a minority head coach was not a somewhat planned move?

[TBayXXXVII 2,480]

59 minutes ago, Tree of Knowledge said:

Bengals paid their dues with 16 years of Marvin Lewis.  

Marvin Lewis is someone who I think earned his job.  However, I think he kept his job because he was black.  I don’t think you're going to find many coaches who had 1 winning season in their first 5 years (0-1 in the playoffs), win 4 games in year 6, and keep their job.

[squistion 1,940]

9 minutes ago, WhiteWonder said:

It's all business. Each NFL team is a business and just like any business, generally tend to care about optics. They may not have to pretend to the same degree as a typical, publicly traded company, but I think they care. .. just think about the teams in sports who have changed their name or logo recently. 

Winning trumps everything, but if a few candidates are close I can easily see a team going minority to be able to say they went minority.  It's a good look for a struggling team.  Think Commanders and Ron Rivera. You don't think after all the Dan Snyder and Redskins stuff, that hiring a minority head coach was not a somewhat planned move?

Getting rid of a pejorative team name that is considered racist is not the same thing as hiring a minority coach. Dan Synder was feeling pressure from not only the NFL and the public with the "Redskins" name, but most importantly from his sponsors (again it goes the bottom line, which is profit).

Yeah, if everything else was equal and it got down to a decision between two candidates for head coach, one white and the other a minority, rather than flip a coin they might go with a minority coach for the optics (but how often is the decision to hire that close?).

[TBayXXXVII 2,480]

37 minutes ago, squistion said:

Getting rid of a pejorative team name that is considered racist is not the same thing as hiring a minority coach. Dan Synder was feeling pressure from not only the NFL and the public with the "Redskins" name, but most importantly from his sponsors (again it goes the bottom line, which is profit).

Yeah, if everything else was equal and it got down to a decision between two candidates for head coach, one white and the other a minority, rather than flip a coin they might go with a minority coach for the optics (but how often is the decision to hire that close?).

https://www.nagaeducation.org/misconception-redskins-is-racist

It was only "racist" when "racism" was the agenda...

From article:

Two national political polls, the first in 2004 by the National Annenberg Election Survey and another in 2016 by The Washington Post came up with almost identical results. When a respondent identified themselves as Native American, both polls asked, "The professional football team in Washington calls itself the Washington Redskins. As a Native American, do you find that name offensive or doesn’t it bother you?". In both polls, 90% responded that they were not bothered, 9% that they were offended, and 1% gave no response.

[BunnysBastatrds 2,303]

And yer mom, to buku

[WhiteWonder 2,674]

2 hours ago, squistion said:

Getting rid of a pejorative team name that is considered racist is not the same thing as hiring a minority coach. Dan Synder was feeling pressure from not only the NFL and the public with the "Redskins" name, but most importantly from his sponsors (again it goes the bottom line, which is profit).

Yeah, if everything else was equal and it got down to a decision between two candidates for head coach, one white and the other a minority, rather than flip a coin they might go with a minority coach for the optics (but how often is the decision to hire that close?).

To quickly answer your last point, more often than you think, imho. 
 

The pressure from the public on teams like the Redskins and Indians was not as big as you’d like to believe. TIA @TBayXXXVII

Teams lose sponsors and there are new sponsors lined up who can’t wait to get a piece of the NFL pie. I’m not saying the threat of certain lost sponsorships doesn’t play a role but on the flip side, the optics of hiring a minority head coach can also open up new avenues. These teams analyze what optic will lead to the biggest boost in merch sales, sponsorships, ticket sales etc. 

so do you not think the hiring of Ron Rivera right at that crucial point of abandoning the name Redskins for WFT and eventually commanders was premeditated? 

[kutulu 1,659]

On 2/5/2025 at 8:19 PM, edjr said:

 

How many black GMs?

Ozzie 

[squistion 1,940]

2 hours ago, WhiteWonder said:

To quickly answer your last point, more often than you think, imho. 
The pressure from the public on teams like the Redskins and Indians was not as big as you’d like to believe. TIA @TBayXXXVII

Teams lose sponsors and there are new sponsors lined up who can’t wait to get a piece of the NFL pie. I’m not saying the threat of certain lost sponsorships doesn’t play a role but on the flip side, the optics of hiring a minority head coach can also open up new avenues. These teams analyze what optic will lead to the biggest boost in merch sales, sponsorships, ticket sales etc. 

so do you not think the hiring of Ron Rivera right at that crucial point of abandoning the name Redskins for WFT and eventually commanders was premeditated? 

No I don't and I don't recall even any "anonomous sources" at the time saying that it did. 

[jerryskids 6,546]

5 hours ago, WhiteWonder said:

Well, DEI was mentioned a few times in this thread, including the OP

and I would disagree with your last sentence. We have no way of knowing but I feel pretty confident that some teams have hired black or hispanic for the optics. 

Regarding DEI:  The Cards have had two black head coaches -- Denny Green and Steve Wilks.  They also tend to be a progressive leader, having had the first woman coach (okay, unpaid intern I think).

Green was a known commodity.  Wilks... was epically bad as a HC.  Not just Ws and Ls, but he always seemed like a deer in the headlights, sucking in front of the media and generally playing checkers while opposing coaches were playing 4D chess.  It's hard to imagine that he aced a series of interviews so well that, simply on his merits, he came from outside the organization to be the choice for coach.  I've always suspected there was at least a little DEI involved in that choice.

[jbycho 577]

On 2/5/2025 at 8:19 PM, edjr said:

https://sports.yahoo.com/more-third-black-nfl-players-064530658.html

 

Bills, Cowboys, Giants, Jaguars, Panthers, Rams, Ravens, Saints, Seahawks and Titans. 

NFL is raacccciiiiiiiiisssss!!!!!

Mor DEI, more rooney rulez!!!!

How many black GMs?

How many owners?!!!/$/$/!/$

Good. I'm now a fan of those teams. 

[Fnord 2,049]

46 minutes ago, kutulu said:

Ozzie 

Maybe the GOAT.

Kwesi too lazy to look up how to spell his last name is the current GM of the Vikings. 

[Hardcore troubadour 14,903]

Jerry Reese has two Super Bowl rings as GM. 

[CaptainObvious1 319]

6 hours ago, squistion said:

Yes, and I wasn't suggesting that you were the one to first bring it up, I was just agreeing with what you said.

As far as your second point is concerned, there is too much money at stake IMO for any team to to hire a minority coach just for the optics, as it won't increase ticket sales any or gain a wider viewing TV audience. 

 

Same as choosing a QB, right?

[CaptainObvious1 319]

@squistion avoiding questions again, as usual.