A Little More on Minority Hiring In Football

A Little extension on Zennie's Impassioned Plea from the other day. See My take at the end.

Johnette Howard
SPORTS COLUMNIST
Time to get schooled on college hiring
January 24, 2007

When Chicago's Lovie Smith and Indianapolis' Tony Dungy meet with thousands of reporters in Miami next week and field questions about being the first two African-American head coaches to take their teams to the Super Bowl, it would be terrific if both men used the platform they'll have to steer the conversation away from the NFL, and toward college football's most outrageous, longest-running disgrace.

Did you know of the 119 NCAA schools that play Division I-A football, only six head coaches are African-American - one fewer than the NFL had last season despite having only 32 teams?

If that weren't already shameful enough to the NCAA, the NFL has progressed to a point where it has retread black coaches. They are Dennis Green, Art Shell, Herman Edwards and even Dungy, if you want to call him that, for the way Indy hired him after Tampa pushed him aside for Jon Gruden.

Though Green and Shell left their teams in the past month, the last two weeks still have been progressive ones for the NFL. In addition to Smith and Dungy's Super Bowl breakthroughs, the Giants made Jerry Reese their first African-American general manager and the Steelers selected 34-year-old Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as their first African-American head coach.

College football's numbers are an outrage, by comparison. While the NFL's progress is directly traceable to the concerted push the league has made in the last decade since its passage of the Rooney Rule on minority hiring, NCAA schools - a notoriously fractious bunch - have plodded along rather than seriously consider an obvious question:

Would some version of the Rooney Rule - in which NFL teams are required to interview minority candidates - work for them?

Eugene Marshall Jr., deputy athletic director at the United States Military Academy at West Point and president of the board of directors of the Black Coaches Association, says the excuses the BCA hears about the lack of minority hires remain the same year to year: "There's not enough people out there ... The pool is weak ... They don't have enough experience ... They've never been a head coach."

"But I can tell you," says Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA's vice president of diversity and inclusion, "the lack of hiring is not happening because of a lack of qualified minority candidates."

So what is the holdback?

A few things, it turns out.

"What it really comes down to are schools' funding people and alumni," Marshall said. "Will fundraisers hire people [of color] to run these places where they spend their money? And in some cases, the answer is still no. We are seeing progress. It's just been far slower here."

For the past three years, the BCA has issued an annual Minority Hiring report card for college football's top two divisions to put a greater spotlight on the problem.

The BCA isn't demanding that minorities be hired for every college head coaching position. In the spirit of the Rooney Rule, what the BCA asks is that minorities be considered as head coaching and athletic director candidates, that minorities are included on the search committees that hire them, things like that. And, Westerhaus says, the NCAA leadership supports and works toward the same goals.

But one difference between the NCAA and NFL is significant: NCAA schools have no hammer hanging over them, while the NFL's Rooney Rule has teeth. The Detroit Lions were fined $200,000 when general manager Matt Millen ignored the league's directives and hired Steve Mariucci.

While Marshall believes accountability is needed in the college ranks, Westerhaus disputes the notion - advanced by the BCA, among others - that the fear of penalties is why the NFL is hiring more minorities more quickly. Westerhaus argues that the NFL's progress is traceable to making the hiring process itself "more and more inclusive" rather than "penalties, penalties, penalties - that's not why the Rooney Rule works."

Oh? It's hard not to notice how the NFL has changed since the Rooney Rule came along while the NCAA has made only glacial progress by urging its schools to do the right thing.

Westerhaus goes on to point out that even if the NCAA regarded penalties as important, getting some binding standards adopted would be extremely difficult because all member schools autonomously set their own institution-wide hiring practices.

But look: Exceptions have been made before. All universities set their own academic honor codes, but the NCAA has approved mechanisms to take back bowl money and scholarships when athletic programs cheat. The NCAA already has passed measures in which member schools can lose athletic scholarships if their sports programs don't meet a list of criterion that include acceptable graduation rates.

Why can't or shouldn't the hiring of minorities be treated with the same import? Why haven't incentives or penalties even been put to a vote?

College sports haven't been held to the fire nearly enough on minority hiring.


The sight of Dungy and Smith taking a stand in the next two weeks would be a sensational boost.

Minority report



Six of 119 head football coaches in Division 1-A are black (5%)

Coach School

Sylvester Croom Mississippi State

Karl Dorrell UCLA

Turner Gill Buffalo

Ron Price Kansas State

Tyrone Willingham Washington

Randy Shannon Miami

Six of 32 head coaches in the NFL are black (18.8%)

Coach Team

Romeo Crennel Cleveland Browns

Tony Dungy Indianapolis Colts

Herman Edwards Kansas City Chiefs

Marvin Lewis Cincinnati Bengals

Lovie Smith Chicago Bears

Mike Tomlin Pittsburgh Steelers


and my feelings on the subject: Zennie and I have been going back and forth the last day+ about this. I agree with Both Zennie's Prior post regarding the Raiders' Most recent Hire, and in general that Minority Hiring Practices In the NFL, NCAA, and several other Sports governing bodies are far behind the times. However, most of what Ms. Howard says in this piece above also makes sense. In college, the people holding the purse strings don't always want to embrace change, even if it's the right thing to do. I'm lucky enough to work for one of the Nicest, Smartest football people i ever met. He also just happens to be an African American. But NYC is ahead of the curve on such things, in both the public and private sector.
I also feel that it shouldn't be "Equality" for some, it should be Equality for ALL....
And Yes: there are PLENTY of Capable Minority assistant coaches at the College level(and High School) who are qualified to be head coaches.

At War With The Raider Nation Over Lane Kiffin and The Raiders' Affirmative Action For Young White Men

Upon the annoucement that the Oakland Raiders hired Lane Kiffin as their new head coach, it can be said that I went balistic. Why? Well, look at his background:

-- Two years as USC Offensive Coordinator, not six as reported on Raiderfans.net (Hey, did someone clear this with Norm Chow? I thought he was the USC OC and not Kiffin. Kiffin was promoted to OC in 2005, thus he's not been the USC OC for six years. Sorry, but the Raiderfans report is an error.)
--  No NFL coordinator experience
--  One year as Quality Control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars
-- No college head coaching experience
--  No NFL head coaching experience

Why do the Raider fans report that Kiffin has six years of experience as USC's Offensive Coordinator, when USC reports this:

"...Lane Kiffin, the son of longtime pro and collegiate coach Monte Kiffin, is in his sixth year at USC. He joined the Trojan staff in February of 2001 and spent the 2001 season handling the tight ends. He became the wide receivers coach in 2002. In 2004, he took on the additional duty of passing game coordinator. In 2005, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator, in addition to continuing as the wide receivers coach..."



The Raiders just insulted Tennessee Titans Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow, one of the greatest offensive coordinators in the game of football and the man who developed USC's passing system. Indeed, they should have just hired Norm Chow, who's Asian. So the Raiders are actually hiring an Assistant to an assistant at the NCAA level, right?

Plus, many USC fans are happy -- happy -- that Kiffin's gone. Check Scott Wolf of Inside USC. Or how about this AOL Blog where fans were pissed with Lane after the loss to UCLA? Heck, even UCLA fans are laughing at the Raiders! So why is the print media treating Al Davis as if he were some genius?

Why?

Or how about Hue Jackson, now Offensive Coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and who's Black, has over 20 years of coaching experience, including Offensive Coordinator at two NCAA schools -- Cal and USC -- and now two NFL teams, and knows more pass offense than Kiffin ever saw or coached? Yet the Raiders never called him at all.

What gets me is that if Kiffin were Black, some in the media would question him as a Rooney Rule hire. But because he's White, his lack of qualifications get a pass from the media -- not me, however. It just goes to show how nuts and racist this society still is. Let Kiffin feel some heat for essentially allowing himself to be promoted as if Norm Chow didn't exist.

Regardless, many in the Raider nation were excited and not at all critical. To wake the throngs of sleeping Raiders fans, I posted this take on Raiderfans.net:

While I understand the excitement over Lane, my personal view is there's a HUGE misunderstanding over what a Head Coach -- A Good One -- does. The Raiders must be called out for "using" the Rooney Rule against its intent. They just interviewed one person to get around it -- James Lofton. Who's a wide receiver coach with the San Diego Chargers -- an NFL team.

Lane Kiffin comes from USC, not a pro team. Does he understand football administration at the pro level? Does he know how to manage a limited number of personel? He's got 100 football players at USC, but a limited number -- 53 -- with the Raiders.

So what does he do when he's got five linebackers, two are injured, and three are starting, and two of them play special teams? Does he have experience in handling this? What about using the Challenge Flag? What about all the other admin duties? How does he deal with players who are used to making a LOT of money and respect people who have been there at the pro level, and not as a quality control coach? I can do that job with my eyes closed.

NFL Head coaching is a hard, complex business. The Raiders --- I guess -- are going to really hold this guy's hand. A lot.

I feel sorry. Real sorry for all of the great NFL assistants -- regardless of color -- that were passed over and not even considered because the Raiders refuse to look at their organizational structure and change. I feel sorry for the players, who undoubtedly were not consulted about this matter and yet have to deal with what will be a VERY green person.

I feel sorry for the 31 WELL-QUALIFIED African American NFL assistant coaches who were not even consulted or listed. I feel sorry for Dennis Green, a proven coach who could come in and make a difference with the Silver and Black and didn't want to be PLAYED by the Raiders.

It's time for tough love. This Raiders need an enema. I'll write it here: Lane Kiffin is not the answer for the organization. The problems will continue -- back-stabbing and other matters -- well into this coming season.

This whole deal is enough to make me weep, but I won't.

Sure enough, I was taken to task for taking on Al Davis. It's not that I'm "taking him on" but for those who blindly -- and not critically -- follow what Mr. Davis does, no criticism can be given. But on the matter of the advancement of Black coaches in the NFL, I do not waver one bit. The Raiders have a pattern of seeking out and hiring real young white coaches to run the team -- never once have they hired anyone young, bright, and Black. Not once. So, someone asked if I was taking on Mr. Davis record of hiring minorities. This was my answer:

Yes I am. One -- a decade ago -- does not a progressive make. For the one, there are, let's see, four young white guys --- Madden, Shanahan, Gruden, Kiffin -- that Davis has hired. That's a pattern. Why not a young, bright Black guy? Why is it OK to have a ton of black running backs, but not a pattern of hiring good young black coaches?

So yes, I'm totally calling out Mr. Davis. Sorry, but I've seen enough. I'm really sick and tired of not only the maintenance of a kind of caste system, but this totally sick rush to defend a person when they hire one Black person -- twice -- as if it's throwing a freaking bone. This is stupid.

The Raiders are falling way behind the rest of the league. You all can go right ahead and get after me for this JUST as you came after me regarding Tom Walsh.

I'll sit right back and be the only person who's not afraid to point to the emperor and pull back the curtain. Social change is hard, man. But I for one will NOT stop pushing.

Why the heck can't it be the RAIDERS who go after the REALLY HOT Mike Tomlin -- WHO'S BLACK! The guy Chris Landry on Fox Sports says was the guy on a fast track. Why did it have to be the Steelers?

Why? (I know the answer here -- The ROONEY Rule.)

Folks, I don't care if I'm out there on an island here. Tough. But I'm going to be totally hard on the Raiders. I really am. I expect greatness from the organization, and it's not evident that they're really shooting for it. It's more like Afirmative Action for Young White Guys.

You think I'm bad; just tune into the NFL Network.

Of course, that did not endear me to the Raider nation and I'd rather not post their responses. But the bottom line is that there are massive problems. Here, we have Black coaches saying that the reason some of them don't get an interview is because of lack of experience. How the hell does one explain Lane Kiffin to anyone? How?

What do you say? As far as I'm concerned, the gloves have to come off at some point. I'm a Raiders fan, but as one who's staunchly for the promotion of young, bright , black coaches, it's hard to be a fan of the Silver and Black of late.

I've always been told that the one thing American society hates is a smart Black man. So when a young, smart, Black man comes along in the NFL, he's generally stopped after a point. Only Tony Dungy and just a few have broken through and Tony has used his good political currency to open doors for people like Mike Tomlin. Thus we see the development of a tree of coaches -- most Black -- that stem from Dungy. He's the one catalyst for change.

But not the Raiders.

The Raiders didn't go out and form a list of young Black coaches at all. They seem to save hiring Blacks for older Oakland Raider players and not for people who went through the NFL's Minority Recruitment Program.

As I wrote, the Silver and Black have no problem stocking up on African American running backs, but every problem in hiring smart, young , Black men.

So much for the progressive organization.

ESPN's Michael Smith Praises Pittsburgh Steelers Process Toward Hiring Mike Tomlin

This is far better than what the Oakland Raiders have done in hiring Lane Kiffin.

Search shows Steelers know what they're doing

By Michael Smith
ESPN.com
Archive

In the immortal words of Rakim, this is how it should be done.

The diligence with which Steelers' ownership approached their nearly two-week search for Bill Cowher's replacement serves as a textbook example of what the NFL had in mind when it established the Rooney Rule (named after Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney, it requires teams to interview at least one minority head coach candidate.)

The policy seeks to promote a fair, inclusive and thorough process.

Which "Race/Ethnicity" box the coach checked on his application is irrelevant.

The Steelers believe former Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin to be the best man to lead one of the league's flagship franchises.

Tomlin just so happens to be African-American.


Kirby Lee/WireImage.com
Mike Tomlin, left, leaves Brad Childress and the Vikings to take over the Steelers.
From the looks of it, Rooney and team president Art Rooney II started the selection process with a clean slate. Meaning it wasn't Coach X's job to lose, though many believed the Steelers ultimately would promote former offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt or assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm. The Rooneys didn't go for broke in a hurried pursuit of a big-name college coach. They didn't conduct courtesy interviews with members of the majority or token interviews with minorities.

No side or backdoor deals, no circumventing. It was all legit. In fact, in the end the leading candidates were minorities -- Tomlin and Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who is Hispanic.

And while it is indeed fitting that Dan Rooney, who has been at the forefront of the league's movement to increase minority hiring, did his part to raise the number of active black coaches (to six), Rooney's obligation was not to make a social statement but to make the best decision for the franchise.

Coincidentally, the best choice is the first black coach in team history.

Super Bowl XLI will feature the first two black head coaches in the game's history. It's not as though black men only now figured out what it takes to be championship coaches. The more opportunities, the more likely a minority head coach leading a team to the title game becomes commonplace. Tomlin didn't sit before the Rooneys as a means of compliance, having no shot to begin with, as so often seems to be the case. It was an open competition and he had a real opportunity -- the only thing minority coaches want given to them.

For a change, a minority didn't have to be twice as qualified from a résumé standpoint to land the gig. The 34-year-old Tomlin spent five seasons as Tampa Bay's secondary coach and this past season overseeing Minnesota's defense. But what he lacks in experience Tomlin more than makes up for, according to those who know him, in charisma, football knowledge and the ability to get players young and old to buy into what he's selling.

Also, give the Steelers credit for focusing on the big picture rather than the short term. No one would have blamed the Rooneys for promoting from within in an attempt to maintain continuity on a team one season removed from its fifth championship. Or even for hiring an offensive coach or one whose preferred defensive scheme is better-suited to their current personnel. (Tomlin comes from the Tampa 2 coaching tree. The Steelers have run the 3-4 since the early 1980s.) Whereas other teams often select a head coach with one unit or even a few players a mind, Pittsburgh chose whom it believes to be the best leader.

Interestingly, an organization that has changed so little in the past -- Tomlin is the team's third coach in the past 38 seasons -- ignored the potential sweeping changes and instead focused on Tomlin's potential.

Clearly the Rooneys were thinking more about the next two decades rather than the next two years. And Tomlin, who becomes the league's youngest head coach, certainly will grow into the job.

He looks nothing like either Cowher or Chuck Noll, but the Rooneys see the same profile in Tomlin. Pittsburgh changes coaches about as often as the Catholic Church elects a pope, so it has some idea what it's doing in this department. The Steelers tend to do things the right way, and the exhaustive process that led them to Tomlin is no exception.

Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com.