The hype around Super Bowl LV is that Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes will be facing off.
Some have called it the GOAT vs the Kid. The GOAT has home-field advantage and six Super Bowl rings. The Kid is the defending champion.
But the real story is the coaching staffs of each team.
2021 started off with seven NFL head coaching vacancies. Black coaches and the Fritz Pollard Alliance had expectations that one or more would be offered to qualified Black coaches such as Anthony Lynn, Jim Caldwell or Eric Bieniemy. As of today, six of the seven spots have been filled by white coaches, some lacking comparable experience to the aforementioned men. The only remaining position belongs to the troubled Houston Texans, who are facing a major Deshaun Watson happiness problem. So unless the Texans, who have interviewed Caldwell, hire him or Bieniemy, Black coaches will be completely frozen out this year.
However, there is a bright spot for these men.
In Super Bowl LV, there are two Black offensive coordinators, one Black defensive coordinator, and one Black special teams coach leading the charge for their respective teams.
For the Chiefs, the offense is led by Eric Bieniemy, who is trying to win his second consecutive championship in his position.
The Buccaneers have one of the most diverse coaching staffs in the league, with 2 women and 11 Black coaches on staff, including former Steelers’ players Antwaan Randle El (offensive assistant) and Larry Foote (outside linebackers). Byron Leftwich leads the offense, Todd Bowles helms the defense and Keith Armstrong calls the shots on special teams. This is history-making as it’s the first time that a trio of Black coaches has led the offense, defense and special teams to the Super Bowl. This also appears to be the first time that two Black offensive coordinators have faced off in the Super Bowl. And it’s definitely the first time that three Black coordinators will be on the field at the same time in a Super Bowl.
Despite their qualifications and performances of their respective units and teams, these coordinators have been grossly overlooked this season. While star players and head coaches should be bathed in compliments, it apparent that Bieniemy and Leftwich don’t receive as much credit for the success of their offenses as Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Bruce Arians, and Tom Brady do. The teams’ dynamic playcalling is attributed to the offensive-minded head coaches instead of the talents of Bieniemy and Leftwich.
Their talents have not gone unnoticed with their bosses though, as Reid and Arians have both supported the ascent of their coordinators.
“Whoever gets him, I think, is a very lucky organization,” said Andy Reid of Bieniemy. “One of the few people I’ve come across with the leadership skills that he has (and) the ability to lead men in this crazy game that we’re in and for those guys through his leadership to play at the Pro Bowl.”
“I thought he did a heck of a job with the offense last year – numbers wise,” said Arians of Leftwich in November. “Bringing in Tom [Brady] has been totally different. He and Tom have a great relationship. Byron’s done a heck of a job. I love his patience with the running game right now and setting up those chunk plays in the passing game. I think he’s done a heck of a job with our offense.
“We’ve got guys ready to take their [Leftwich and Bowles] place just in case that happens. Hopefully, we go all the way and they both get jobs.”
While they haven’t been given consideration as head coaches this season, it’s important to note that they’re all leaders as they captain their respective units. It’s something that legendary coach Tony Dungy wants owners to recognize and acknowledge.
“Now we got a situation where we do have some young minority offensive coaches,” said Dungy on the Huddle & Flow Podcast. “But we got to get the owners to understand that they need to be looking for leaders. Leadership is what wins for you.”
And through their leadership, they’ve helped their teams get to Super Bowl LV.
To their credit, the coaches have not raised objections to the very process which deterred their head coaching dreams. Instead, they focused on doing their jobs, which is one of the reasons why they’re still playing while others are not.
Watching the hiring of head coaches in the NFL has been a frustrating, infuriating, and embarrassing process. But seeing Black coordinators guide their teams to Super Bowl LV has been heartwarming and encouraging. And the best part is that no matter who wins, a Black coordinator will be hoisting the Lombardi trophy in February.
Both Kansas City and Tampa Bay bet on Black. Too bad six, and maybe seven, NFL teams didn’t listen to Wesley Snipes in “Passenger 57”.
