list of black nfl head coaches

Jackson took over for Tom Cable, who went 8-8 in his final season with the team. There have been six head coaches of the Houston Texans, a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas, United States.The Texans play in the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).. The Jets hired Edwards after they were 9-7 the year prior. With all the controversy surrounding the NFL 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. Dennis Green took the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game. I think that might be part of the answer to why it exists, but I certainly don't think it's the entire answer. With all the controversy surrounding the NFL 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. The franchise was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL . Having them sit in non-interview settings with the decision makers, presidents, and owners, everything I've talked about. Nancy Armour USA TODAY 0:00 1:51 The. He had an aggregate record of 36-28, a winning percentage of .563 the best winning percentage of any Lions Head Coach since the 1950s, Flores lawsuit said in part. The NFL currently has three head coaches that are of African American origin. Wilks didnt do a good job in his first season with the Cardinals, but well never know if it was a fluke or the norm, as it was also his only season in Arizona. Specifically, Flores claims hes had multiple incidents of racial discrimination that involved several teams, as well as coaches and executives around the league. Morris, who is the current defensive coordinator of the Rams, served as the head coach of the Buccaneers (2009-2011) and Falcons (2020). Were they invited to lead your team? Sports news website the Ringer reported that Flores was not fired because of his coaching but rather because of his troubled relationship with team owner Stephen Ross, a supporter of former President Donald Trump who has refuted claims of racial discrimination. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, "During his pro football career the two-time All-America played and sometimes coached for four different NFL teams, the Pros/Indians (1920-21/1925-26), the . Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. 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. In his three seasons in Indianapolis, Caldwell was 28-24 and replaced by Chuck Pagano. Source . How would you use that player? Overall of the on field coaches in the NFL, it's something like 43% are coaches of color. 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, Mel Tucker was named the interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the final five games of the 2011 season. He compiled a 34-32 record in four seasons and was replaced by Brandon Stanley. Mike Tomlin, who, as of the time of this list being published, was the lone Black head coach in the NFL, has led the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons since 2007. NFC Head Coaches Arizona Cardinals | Jonathan Gannon* Atlanta Falcons | Arthur Smith Carolina Panthers | Frank Reich* Chicago Bears | Matt Eberflus Dallas Cowboys | Mike McCarthy Detroit Lions | Dan Campbell Green Bay Packers | Matt LaFleur Los Angeles Rams | Sean McVay Minnesota Vikings | Kevin O'Connell New Orleans Saints | Dennis Allen Is it because the NFL is an organization akin to slavery, like blacklisted free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick said after he was effectively excommunicated from the league following his silent kneeling protest to demonstrate against the police brutality of Black people? During his entire head coaching career, his two teams combined for a record of 89-87-0 across eleven seasons including going 3-3-0 in the playoffs, according to the Pro Football History website. It was when the GM above me and I was the assistant GM, he decided to retire, that decision maker was there in meetings with me, was there socially, professionally, and he understood that I could do the job. Caldwell was brought in after the Jim Schwartz (gym shorts) era ended with 4-12 and 7-9 seasons. The Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) have had 13 head coaches in their franchise history. 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. 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. 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. I'm proud to report today, my classes are basically 50/50. He served as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under then-head coach Brian Flores during the 2021 season. Either way, Flores. He is the current running backs coach for the Dolphins. Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 through the 2021 season, after which he was fired. 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. Caldwell took over for Dungy with ease as he posted a 14-2 record in his first season as the Colts made it all the way to Super Bowl XLIV where they were upset by Drew Brees and the Saints. Relationships play a big part too. In seven seasons with the Colts, Dungy was 92-33 as he made the playoffs every season and won Super Bowl XLI. The league has even gone to such drastic measures as partnering with rap legend JAY Z in the name of entertainment and social justice as a way to help accomplish its evasive mission. I think there's some basic qualities you look for. Not only minorities, but people that are the decision makers. 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. Check out the FULL list below! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Culley lasted just one season with the Texans, completing the 2021 campaign with a 4-13 overall record. Marvin Lewis, who coached the Cincinnati Bengals for 16 seasons from 2003 to 2018, is among the current and former NFL coaches who have denounced the league for racial injustices and told NBC Sports that Black coaches have been getting sham interviews like those alleged by Brian Flores for years. A lot of it is right place at the right time, a lot of it's knowing the right people, a lot of it is just hard work and accomplishments. Who are the NFL's Black head coaches? Dungy was hired in Indianapolis after they went 6-10 before he arrived. Heres Every Black Head Coach In NFL History Dungy later became the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. 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. His career record is 92-90. All Rights Reserved. We did a lot of reporting on this in the fall, and you had some people who basically suspected that a lot of it stems from playing positions. Only one of five NFL head coaches hired this offseason was Black. 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 . Ray Rhodes coached in various NFL capacities for nearly 40 years, including a five-year run as head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and later with the Green Bay Packers. What do you think of that player? He had an aggregate record of 36-28, a winning percentage of .563 the best winning percentage of any Lions Head Coach since the 1950s, Flores lawsuit said in part. 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. 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. 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. I think a lot of it is the underpinning of a lot of the reporting that we've done, which is just unconscious bias. I'll give you a quote from Bill Nunn, Hall of Fame scout from the Pittsburgh Steelers, the head personnel man for the 1974 draft that drafted four Hall of Famers is the gold standard of anybody in the personnel business. Ron Aiken. He was replaced by Jim Harbaugh. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. All Rights Reserved. In the text message, Belichick confirmed Daboll had already secured the job, but Flores had not yet interviewed for the position. It was a positive thing. Jacksons second stint as an NFL head coach was atrocious as he was 1-31 in his first two seasons in Cleveland. Mike Tomlin, who, as of the time of this list being published, was the lone Black head coach in the NFL, has led the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons since 2007. Jim Caldwell has been head coach for two different NFL franchises: the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2011 and the Detroit Lions from 2014 to 2017. 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. This revelation meant Flores upcoming interview with the Giants was a sham because they had already hired their next head coach, who is not Black. 12. Thomas was the Falcons head coach for just four games before the team decided to hire someone else for the job in the offseason. Don Shula holds the current records for regular season wins at 328 and combined regular and postseason wins at 347. The franchise was founded in 1960 by Lamar Hunt and were known as the Dallas Texans when the team was located in Dallas, Texas. Vance Joseph, who was the head coach for the Denver Broncos for the 2017 and 2018 seasons and is reportedly a candidate for the Miami Dolphins head coaching job that was left vacant after Brian Flores was fired. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. The Rooney Rule is 20 years old this year. He has a 90-90-1 overall record through Week 6 of the 2022 season. The thinking basically went there are lots of black men who played running back, so when they transition to coaching, that's the position they know, it's the easiest way to get into the business. The Houston Texans broughtCulley in to clean up the mess that Bill OBrien left after he underachieved with J.J. Watt, Deshaun Watson, and DeAndre Hopkins on top of trading Hopkins and getting into it with Watt. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/W1bXqGIfl0 McDaniel, who identifies as biracial, was named the head coach of the Dolphins in February 2022. Mike Tomlin, Brian Flores and David Culley are the three NFL coaches. That's something Doug Whaley, the former NFL GM we met earlier, learned in his career. Coaching rumors are heating up with three openings created on Monday morning. Thanks to Tyler Dragon, Tom Schad, Doug Whaley, and Andrew Brandt for joining me. He was replaced by Adam Gase, a guy that went 9-23 in two seasons. In the text message, Belichick confirmed Daboll had already secured the job, but Flores had not yet interviewed for the position. Brian Flores, who used to be head coach of the Miami Dolphins, filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL claiming there is racial discrimination in the hiring process. Andrew Brandt agrees that the league has a long way to go and suggested similar programs to the one Whaley describes, but warned that the issue is complex and without easy answers. Thank you for subscribing! 1. Other active head coaches to have won a Super Bowl are Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, Mike McCarthy, Sean Payton, Doug Pederson, Andy Reid, and Sean McVay. Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 through the 2021 season, after which he was fired. and over the next 13 seasons, which included seven years with the Indianapolis Colts, he racked up 148 total victories. He was then hired full-time and was 8-8 in his lone full season. I'm James Brown. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website, During his pro football career the two-time All-America played and sometimes coached for four different NFL teams, the Pros/Indians (1920-21/1925-26), the Milwaukee Badgers (1922), the Hammond Pros (1923, 1925), and the Providence Steam Roller (1925)., It also added: In 1928, Pollard organized and coached the Chicago Black Hawks, an all-African American professional team based in the Windy City.. Andrew Brandt would know. Revisiting Dolphins scandal, Pollard became the first Black coach in NFL history when he was named co-coach of the Akron Pros in 1921. He has a proven track record for developing high-quality players and constantly innovated his defensive scheme over the last six seasons in San Francisco.. The rule was named after Dan Rooney, then owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ray Rhodes coached in various NFL capacities for nearly 40 years, including a five-year run as head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and later with the Green Bay Packers. As of the time that this list was published, Morris was seen as a leading candidate for the Minnesota Vikings head coaching vacancy. He was also named assistant head coach of the Jaguars for the 2012 season, according to the Pro Football History website. 93% of running back's coaches in the NFL at the start of the season were coaches of color compared to something like 18% or something of quarterback's coaches. Jackson was replaced by Dennis Allen, a coach that went 8-28 in 2.5 seasons. We should be able to have a system where the best person for the job gets hired, not the person you know the best. Pittsburghs Mike Tomlin and Houstons David Culley are the lone Black head coaches in a league thats over 70 percent Black. Former NFL star DeMeco Ryans is the next Black man to ascend to the position of head coach in the NFL. And what goes into hiring a head coach? True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here. In 2000, there were three Black coaches in the league. Revisiting Dolphins scandal. 4. He served as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under then-head coach Brian Flores during the 2021 season. Joseph only lasted two seasons and finished with an 11-21 record. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here. He says that change is even happening in his sports business classes. First, look at the overall preview of our 20 black NFL coaches below. 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. In the meantime, keep reading to get familiar with the dozens of Black people who have worked as NFL head coaches in the leagues more than 100-year history. There are just SIX head coaches of color out of 32 in a league with a 70% non-white player base. Below is a look at every Black coach thats been hired since then and a snapshot of their story. Shane Steichen, Offensive Coordinator, Eagles. He served in the same double capacity with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020. Bowles has coached the Dolphins (2011) and Jets (2015-2018), and he is the current coach of the Buccaneers. Well . The first thing you say is kudos to Mr. Rooney, obviously the driving force behind it, and I worked for him so I'm biased, but also the league for identifying a problem and trying to come up with a solution. It's true in business, it's true in life, and diversity only comes with some steps to increase representation and NFL is doing that. Must Black folks be head coaches too, critics might be wondering? Mike Tomlin, who, as of the time of this list being published, was the lone Black head coach in the NFL, has led the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons since 2007. Of course, that type of logic is counterproductive and completely beside the point, what with the 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. Is it right, wrong or indifferent? Mike Singletary was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers for three seasons from 2008 to 2010.