list of black nfl head coaches list of black nfl head coaches

Lovie Smith was a head coach with the Chicago Bears for eleven seasons from 2004 to 2012 before he was hired as thehead coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014to2015. 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. He was named the Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1995. There were five black NFL head coaches at the end of the 2022 season. and over the next 13 seasons, which included seven years with the Indianapolis Colts, he racked up 148 total victories. To be sure, the NFL has had more than 500 head coaches over the course of more than a century of competition. Thomas was the Falcons head coach for just four games before the team decided to hire someone else for the job in the offseason. Download Our New Praise 107.9 Radio Mobile App For Your Smartphone! What I was looking for is the kind of person that I don't know, does 50 pushups right out of bed, that makes a to-do list right out of bed, that has a routine. 20 Black NFL Coaches 20. The Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin and the Tampa Buccaneers' Todd Bowles are the only current Black NFL head coaches. 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? Smith was replaced by Marc Trestman who only lasted two seasons and had a losing record. After leading the Buffalo Bills for one season in 2016. newsone.com. Because I've learned that the best indicators of future success are self-motivation and self-discipline. I'm proud to report today, my classes are basically 50/50. Singletary coached the 49ers from 2008-2010, totaling 18 wins and 22 losses in three seasons. That certainly lines up with what Flores lawsuit is alleging. 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. Who are the NFL's Black head coaches? He has an overall record of 62-50 in seven seasons. He left the league with a 54-74 overall record. To date, he has a 162-93 record, is the youngest coach in league history to win a Super Bowl, has Pittsburgh in the playoffs for the tenth time in his tenure, and is the only coach in league history to begin his career with 15 straight non-losing seasons. A more diverse pipeline could help down the road. "Brush my teeth?" He retired after the 2008 season and was replaced by Jim Caldwell who was the teams coach-in-waiting, in a rare occurrence of a team having back-to-back Black coaches. Fritz Pollard. The NFL has a serious diversity problem. Jackson only got one season to prove his worth with the Raiders after finishing 8-8 in a season in which the team started 7-4. Tyler Dragon, sports reporter at USA Today says things played out differently than expected. Jackson took over for Tom Cable, who went 8-8 in his final season with the team. A complete timeline of Black coaches, past and present, largely declined to hire those candidates, What happened to Brian Flores? Anthony Lynn, who is black, went from running backs coach directly to head coach. Nonetheless, Mr. Caldwell was fired the day after his fourth season.. The Lions also had two playoff berths in four seasons, as compared to one playoff appearance in the previous 14 seasons. 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. 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. Nonetheless, Mr. Caldwell was fired the day after his fourth season.. He went 36-30 during his tenure and has been replaced by a litany of coaches that havent been able to get the Lions to sniff the playoffs since he was fired. Dungy later became the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. I think there's some basic qualities you look for. Leadership is defined in a lot of different ways. The rule was expanded in 2009 to include general managers as well as other front-office positions. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Dungy later became the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. newsone.com. That makes grand total of three in a 32-team league where 60% of players are Black. Crennel was 6-10 in his first season and lasted four years in Cleveland with a 24-20 record. 20 years ago, the NFL adopted a policy known as the Rooney Rule. Maybe they're not doing it as well as others, but I think sometimes they get faulted unfairly for things. Eric Studesville was the head coach for the Denver Broncos during the final four games of the 2010 season. Morris, who is the current defensive coordinator of the Rams, served as the head coach of the Buccaneers (2009-2011) and Falcons (2020). In that time, they hired two head coaches. He compiled a 56-52 overall record, reaching the AFC Championship game in 1990. That certainly lines up with what Flores lawsuit is alleging. Over a nearly 20-year career as a coach in the NFL, Leslie Frazier was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013. from Todd Haley that season when he was let go after a 5-8 start. 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. Shell did his second and final stint as the head coach for the Raiders, as he only lasted one year after posting a 2-14 record. The NFL has historically had a problem with hiring black head coaches and all minority coaches for that matter, whether that be head coach, assistant coach, coordinators, and you can even go in the front office, GM, assistant GM, president player personnel. Perry Fewell was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills for a single season in 2019. In his three full seasons with the Vikings he compiled an 18-20 record and was eventually replaced by Mike Zimmer who was fired on Monday. In 2000, there were three Black coaches in the league. John Allen (American football) Lamar Allen. Only one head coach in the last seven years. No matter what you make, if I came in here and told you how to spend your money, what would you say? Lovie Smith was a head coach with the Chicago Bears for eleven seasons from 2004 to 2012 before he was hired as thehead coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014to2015. It attempted to address the historically low number of minorities in head coaching positions. Fritz Pollard became the first Black head coach in NFL history after the Akron Pros appointed him as co-coach in 1921. Hue Jackson was an NFL head coach with two franchises for four seasons. Raheem Morris was an NFL head coach with two separate teams from 2009 to 2020, including leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011, with the first three seasons of that tenure including double-duty as the teams defensive coordinator. From all of us at USA Today, thanks for listening. The rule was expanded in 2009 to include general managers as well as other front-office positions. I'm James Brown. Source . was originally published on Like our content? Tomlin has been the coach of the Steelers since 2007, making him the second-longest tenured coach in the NFL behind only Bill Belichick. Dennis Greeen was the Vikings Head Coach from 1992 to 2001, and his 97 regular-season wins rank second in franchise history. Former NFL executives Andrew Brandt and Doug Whaley, and USA TODAY sports reporters Tom Schad and Tyler Dragon give their insights on the process of hiring coaches and executives in today's NFL. He's accusing teams including the New York Giants and Denver Broncos of conducting sham interviews with him last year. He coached the Raiders from 1989-1994, then returned to the team for one season in 2006. Interestingly enough, Caldwell was mentioned in Brian Flores lawsuit as an example of a Black NFL head coach who was fired in spite of the success he enjoyed. He led Indianapolis to the franchise's second Super Bowl title in 2006. 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. And Terry Robiskie served as an interim head coach in Washington as the interim position would be the highest level he ever reached in his career. 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. Dennis Greeen was the Vikings Head Coach from 1992 to 2001, and his 97 regular-season wins rank second in franchise history. Must Black folks be head coaches too, critics might be wondering. Edwards was 10-6 in his first season and took the team to the second round of the playoffs. If they truly want to change the system or if not, then we realize that they're just given it lip service. While the policy has been able to open more doors for Black coaches during the interview process, front offices have largely declined to hire those candidates. Todd Bowles Starting our list on number 20 is the NFL franchise head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Todd Bowles. The rule was expanded in 2009 to include general managers as well as other front-office positions. 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. After all, they may be musing, isnt the NFL disproportionately made up of Black players? Herman Herm Edwards, largely seen as a mentor to many current and former NFL players, coached the New York Jets from 2001-2005 and the Kansas City Chiefs from 2006 to 2008, according to the Pro Football Reference website. Sandra Douglass Morgan - President of the Las Vegas Raiders. They have who they want to be their coordinators, to be their assistant coaches, in some cases, to be their quality control coaches, to be their equipment managers, to be their strength conditioning staff. What's the setup of their operation? Dennis Greeen was the Vikings Head Coach from 1992 to 2001, and his 97 regular-season wins rank second in franchise history. James Franklin (Penn State coach) So far, the best bet to be the first Black coach to win an FBS national championship remains Franklin, whose Nittany Lions will likely enter the season as a . Romeo Crennel was a head coach for four seasons with the Cleveland Browns from 2005 to 2008 and later for one season with the Houston Texans, according to the Pro Football History website. After serving as defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills in 2021, Frazier interviewed for the Chicago Bears head coaching job. Morris was tabbed as the man to follow the Jon Gruden era in Tampa a guy that still touts his Super Bowl title with the Bucs even though he coached a team that was crafted by Tony Dungy. He returned to coaching when he took the head job at Arizona State in 2017. 1. 1. There are just 32 NFL head coaching jobs, six or seven become vacant every year. Our recent USA Today sports analysis found that in the last 20 years, about four white coaches were hired for every coach of color. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. 2. Tucker was the interim head coach of the Jaguars for the last five games of the 2011 season. 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. The Chargers hired Lynn after Mike McCoy went 4-12 and 5-11 in his last two seasons. 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. He was replaced by Vic Fangio who was fired on Sunday. He has taken the Pittsburgh Steelers to two Super Bowls since 2007 with one. 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. During his three seasons as head coach, Rhule had five different starters Teddy Bridgewater, PJ Walker, Sam Darnold, Cam Newton, and Baker Mayfield. The Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) have had 13 head coaches in their franchise history. If you look at solutions instead of just focused on the problem, that's where I think we all should be focusing our energy. He says that there's been some improvement with diversity in the coaching ranks. 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.. Perry Fewell was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills for a single season in 2019. 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. He can move to number one with success during the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. He also wants to get a sense of their mentality. Below is a look at every Black coach thats been hired since then and a snapshot of their story. 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. 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. He coached the Raiders from 1989-1994, then returned to the team for one season in 2006. Notably, Jackson responded to Flores lawsuit by claiming he was subjected to similar treatment described in the complaint. McDaniel, who identifies as biracial, was named the head coach of the Dolphins in February 2022. He served as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under then-head coach Brian Flores during the 2021 season. Lewis was hired by the Bengals after a 2-14 campaign. You can just interview a black or minority head coach and know that you're not really going to hire them, you're just making sure you cross all your Ts and dot your Is before you make that hire of the white coach you want. Flores finished 24-25 in three seasons with the Dolphins (2019-2021) and remains connected to the franchise. He is embroiled in a lawsuit that he filed against multiple teams, including Miami, and the NFL for discriminatory hiring practices. One person called this positional segregation. MORE: The NFL Has A Major Black Head Coach Problem. And what goes into hiring a head coach? All Rights Reserved. He went 21-38 across those four seasons. 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. | Source: Wesley Hitt / Getty. 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. Here's what our USA TODAY Sports investigation found. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here. The team relocated to Kansas City, Missouri and were renamed the Chiefs in 1963. 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. What's your familiarity, and what's your schemes? Coaching rumors are heating up with three openings created on Monday morning. 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. 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. Lynn was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers the following season and served in that capacity for four years through the 2020 season. Jacksons second stint as an NFL head coach was atrocious as he was 1-31 in his first two seasons in Cleveland. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. 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. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. 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. Despite the fact that coaches are beginning to opt out of the combine, both Pederson and Baalke will meet with the media to discuss strategy and other subjects on Tuesday, February 28 at 12:30 a.m . He was then hired full-time and was 8-8 in his lone full season. Bowles was hired after Rex Ryans roller coaster ride with the Jets ended with a 4-12 finish in 2014. 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.. Revisiting Dolphins scandal, Pollard became the first Black coach in NFL history when he was named co-coach of the Akron Pros in 1921. That's Doug Whaley. He was replaced by Adam Gase, a guy that went 9-23 in two seasons. 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. Sign up for NewsOne's email newsletter! 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. Owners and front office people who are in charge of hiring, they found loopholes in the rule. The NFL's 32 teams began the season in full on Sunday with only three Black head coaches and two Black general managers in a league where the players are roughly 70% Black. 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..