A race to hire
You have got to be kidding me! I don't like to jump on the PC bandwagon and cry racism every time a white male is hired, but when John Shoop gets an interview for an NFL head coaching job, it's time to speak up.
I'm sick of the lame attempt at rationalization that there aren't enough qualified black candidates in the ranks of offensive and defensive coordinators, and that's why blacks aren't getting the head coaching spots. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy, because the white GMs and owners don't promote enough minorities into the ranks of coordinators.
John Shoop was the quarterbacks coach in Tampa Bay. Sure, Chris Simms improved as the season progressed, but the guess here is Jon Gruden was the reason. Not Shoop.
Even if you give Shoop credit for Simms, you also have to look at his entire body of work, and it stinks. The Bears' offense was a joke with him in charge. Shoop was in way over his head. Dick Jauron's loyalty to Shoop likely cost him his job, even after Jauron won coach of the year.
There were 10 NFL head coaching vacancies, and the only one filled by a black man was when the Jets "traded" Herm Edwards to the Chiefs. That means the status quo remains with six black head coaches out of 32. Pathetic.
One vacancy remains, the one in Oakland. Of the other nine, seven were filled by white guys with no head coaching experience. Jauron was the lone "retread."
What exactly were Eric Mangini's qualifications to be the Jets' head coach? And Mike McCarthy coordinated the worst offense in football in San Francisco before being promoted in Green Bay. Tell me again how Ron Rivera wasn't ready yet.
Just when we thought guys like Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith and Marvin Lewis opened the door for good, along comes Shoop interviewing for the Raiders gig. And to think, Al Davis was the first to hire a black head coach in Art Shell. So much for progress.
Comments
Read with interest your blog about the NFL's hiring practice. You could have said the same about baseball. Look at Cito Gaston. All he's done is win two World Series, but he can't find a job. What about Dave Stewart, World Series champ, perennial 20-game winner? Hasn't he paid his dues? Isn't he as qualified as, say, Lee Mazzilli?
But instead of hiring Gaston or Stewart, or Frank White for that matter, owners would rather recycle guys who don't win, like Bob Boone and Larry Bowa. And in Bowa, you get two for one: a guy who doesn't win and alienates half the team in the process. Still, he's been a manager twice in the major leagues. Don't get it.
Owners should follow Jerry Reinsdorf's lead. Say what you will about him, the man has been good to minorities, just like the owner he replaced. Reinsdorf hired Bill Cartwright as Bulls head coach, made Jerry Manuel the Sox' manager, Kenny Williams the GM and Ozzie the current manager. Maybe, with Ozzie's success, other owners will take notice and dip more frequently into baseball's vast melting pot.
Posted by: Dave | January 25, 2006 03:15 PM
I definitely agree with your assessment. It is not just at the pro ranks there is an issue, the high school ranks, the major college ranks. I am a die hard ND fan, but you provide a 10+ year contract to Charlie Weis and fire Ty Willingham and can justify it. I hear of how many young white coaches are "geniuses" or they are "head coaching material". Is a person born with the label "head coaching material" on their birth certificate? I don't think so, it's usually a justification to do what you plan on doing anyway, hiring another guy who looks just like you. I believe in giving qualified guys a chance, but in our era of sports it does not happen. The athlete of the big two sports, football and basketball is a minority and is pushed to excel, the fans, the coaches, the owners are majority, it's almost like the Roman gladiators or a system where we breed the product but when the product demonstrates brilliance on the playing field there is a glass ceiling where they cannot teach what they have experienced.
Posted by: K.A. | January 26, 2006 05:29 AM
I have trouble understanding this black and white thing in reference to NFL Head Coaches. Next it is going to be there are no Hispanic Head Coaches then there are no Gay Head Coaches and finally there are no Female Head Coaches. Owners and GM's should hire who they want, as I hire who I want for repairs to my home or vehicle. If they or I choose poorly it will show quickly and cost to fix it. When it comes to the all mighty $ people tend to be held accountable when it costs an entire franchise millions of dollars. It will be a great day when people are hired because they are best qualified and not pressured because we want more color.
Posted by: scott | January 30, 2006 01:54 PM
Those are ignorant comments, Scott. The reason many people mention race in hiring practices, especially the NFL, is because 65% of the players in the league are black. Don't you think whites would raise the same issue if the situation were reversed (65% white players, yet only 19% of the head coaches were white)?
"It will be a great day when people are hired because they are best qualified..." Do you really believe that statement? Do you think the Green Bay's recent hire is an example of that?
Posted by: Jay | January 31, 2006 06:53 AM
I find it interesting to hear this debate across the mulitple media outlets and hear the biggest defenders of the cause. What's most interesting is they are mostly White. I agree with the preposterous "recycle angle" and also with the percentage of players far outweighing the number of coaches. The reality is that most Black Americans are not complaining because it is a reflection of society. Frankly, Blacks don't have much of a majority stake in corporate America. Sure we get positions but very few that require our signature on the budget. How can we honestly expect to go onto a playing field where most of the owners are older, White guys and run their prize possession. Most of the board members are entrenched white guys. Very few of those guys have ever considered allowing a minority figure to become the face of their organization. It has only been 40 years since Dr. King and JFK. Black Americans were opressed for 400 years. It is not going to change overnight.
Posted by: Ernest Frazier | January 31, 2006 11:24 AM
NFL has done all it can do by requiring all teams to interview at least 1 minority head coach. In the end, it gets down to who you're comfortable with. What's not helping are ignorant comments by people like Michael Irvin who says "look at 3 of the top coaches in the playoffs - Smith, Dungy and Lewis..". That's no different than saying the 2 head coaches in the Super Bowl are white, so you're probably better off hiring a white head coach. .
Posted by: Jerry O | January 31, 2006 11:50 AM
It seems the head coaching position is based on friendships and some kind of inner clubhouse mentality. Now, black coaches may be quite behind in terms of the inner clubhouse, which may thus be somewhat race based on a grander level. But in terms of why Shoop got the job.. I can't believe its cause he is white, after all I can't understand how this person can even have a job in the NFL ( there must be far more capable white people than Shoop, hell, the video game coaches decision is better than Shoops!!).
Posted by: Linus | January 31, 2006 06:28 PM