Sideline Chatter: A New Look at the NFL’s Ongoing Racial Divide
As head coaching jobs open, when will the racial hiring gap close?
If you’ve watched a San Francisco 49ers game in person or on TV, you’ve probably seen their defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s wild reactions on the sidelines. When his defense succeeds, his neck vein bulges and his clenched fist pumps high into the air. He screams, he shouts–and sometimes his excitement spills onto the field.
Saleh is the hype man that San Francisco will surely miss. Next season, he will take over the New York Jets–and one hopes he brings his sideline show with him. Niners fans are sad to see him go, but Saleh has a bright future ahead.
Saleh, a Lebanese American, will become the fourth active head coach of color in the National Football League (NFL). After emerging from one of the most impactful periods of racial reckoning in history, Saleh’s hiring could mark the beginning of an important change. We can only hope the owners in our nation’s most prized sports league will finally begin to close the racial hiring gap for good.
Unfortunately, the NFL’s record of empty promises leads me to believe this won’t be enough. Since 2009, nearly 40% of the NFL’s head coaches held offensive coordinator positions prior to their hiring. And, unsurprisingly, over 90% of those offensive coordinators were white. On the other hand, coaches of color inevitably are nudged into managing the defensive squads. Even when they rack up all the necessary experience to take the helm, their white counterparts get the final callback.
Last year, the Cleveland Browns were in the market for a new head coach. They had the choice between then-Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski (who is white) and Saleh. Saleh and his 49ers’ defense crushed the Viking’s offense 27-10. Defensive end Nick Bosa came out with guns blazing and had six tackles and two sacks. Cornerback Richard Sherman had a beautiful interception in the third quarter. As you’d expect, Saleh was fired up. He appeared to be a lock for the head-coaching job after this victory.
Two days later, the Browns hired Stefanski. The choice was close, but if Cleavland’s ownership was judging these candidates based on this game’s performance, Saleh outplayed Stefanski by a mile. But the white coach prevailed in the end.
This issue doesn’t stop with Saleh. Other coaches of color have struggled for seasons on end to land top positions. Eric Bieniemy is one such person. The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator is one of the best in the league. He’s also only one of two Black men to currently hold this position in the NFL. Bieniemy’s offense is designed around his stellar players, and it is executed differently each game depending upon the opponent. He also developed Patrick Maholmes into a dual-threat quarterback–one of the best in the league. At age 51, he has 14 years of professional coaching experience.
Bieniemy has been labeled as the top candidate for a head coaching position somewhere–anywhere–for the last two seasons. He’s interviewed for seven different openings in that same span, none of which went his way. He might already be a head coach if he was white. Because he’s Black, it’s likely he’ll continue to get overlooked.
By comparison, 38-year-old Brandon Staley’s four years coaching in the NFL landed him the head coaching job with the Chargers.
The pool of talent among several other Black candidates is only rising. Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills defensive coordinators Todd Bowles and Leslie Frazier patiently await their turns after overseeing two of the top defenses in the league for the last few seasons. The Bucs and the Bills will both compete in their conference championships this weekend, but the coaches who helped them get there will likely watch the hiring wave come and go, without them.
Honestly, the most troubling part about this reality is that the owners in the NFL continue to advocate their commitment to diversity. Last May, the league updated the Rooney Rule, which now requires at least two interviews of minority candidates for head coaching positions. While this rule might help more coaches of color land interviews, it clearly hasn’t helped them get the jobs at the end of the day. At best, these candidates walk away with more “learning experience,” and the owners check one more point in the diversity column.
There were six head coaching vacancies at the end of the regular season. Saleh secured one; now one spots remains. More coaches of color need to hold the reins in these big-time roles. Not only because they deserve it, but also because the momentum for change is hurtling forward.
This is the year for some real progress. Maybe that means having diversity officials oversee these interviews, and hold owners accountable. Maybe that requires the league to wait until after the Super Bowl to start interviewing, so that every candidate gets an equal opportunity to meet with executives. Whatever it takes to fill the NFL’s historically hollow words with action. If not now, when?