The NFL definitely has a race issue when it comes to NFL head coaching hires, and that’s exemplified by the last two years.
Out of seven vacancies in 2021, only one team, the Texans, hired a Black head coach, David Culley. At the end of the season, despite doing a good job of navigating through rough waters left behind by Bill O’Brien, Culley was fired.
After Culley’s firing and the Dolphins’ shocking firing of Brian Flores, the NFL currently only has one Black head coach, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin.
Last month, optimism for Black coaches simmered as there were nine vacancies. But to date, six have been filled by white head coaches and only three remain (Dolphins, Saints and Texans).
The NFL’s head coaching hiring process is biased and exclusionary and that is exactly why Brian Flores filed his scathing lawsuit on the first day of Black History Month.
Owners say they seek “the best candidate” yet that candidate is predominantly white. A system that always seems to claim a Black coach is “a serious candidate” is the same that refuses to hire one despite being equally, if not more qualified. In the end, there always seems to be an excuse as to why Black coaches aren’t first considerations, second choices, or deserving of a second chance.
Over the past few weeks, Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich seemed poised to be the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. But late Thursday afternoon he officially withdrew his name from consideration from the team which drafted him in 2003.
The move by Leftwich, the favorite for the job, surprised many.
The alleged reason for his withdrawal was that he felt he couldn’t work with current Jaguars GM Trent Baalke. Leftwich wanted the team to hire Adrian Wilson, VP of Player Personnel for the Arizona Cardinals, as GM but they refused.
After his decision, the team quickly hired former Eagles head coach, Doug Pederson.
Some will say, “See, Leftwich had his chance. It’s not about race,” but that’s a reaction for the simple-minded and deniers of systemic bias.
You see, it’s obvious that Leftwich understood the situation.
He understood that the Jaguars are not Super Bowl contenders. It would be a lot of work and wins wouldn’t materialize right away. But that’s not what made him decline.
Leftwich visualized a future where he and Baalke bumped heads and the blame would be placed on him for losing. Losing breeds discontent, which could lead many to claim that Leftwich was “difficult” to work with. Suddenly, his attitude would be deemed problematic, something he’d never been accused of previously. His reputation would be tarnished and once he was fired it would be highly unlikely that he’d receive a second chance at a head coaching opportunity.
Why? Because that’s what happens to Black head coaches in the NFL.
Besides Flores, supposedly the hottest candidate on the market this off-season, men like Todd Bowles, Anthony Lynn, Raheem Morris, Leslie Frazier and Culley are still waiting for their second chance to be a head coach. There’s also Jim Caldwell, who has yet to receive another offer despite winning records with both the Colts and the Lions.
Byron Leftwich could have accepted the Jaguars’ job and become the first Black head coach hired in 2022. He and his family would have been happy for him and he wouldn’t have to move far.
But walking into a losing organization still reeling from the failed Urban Meyer experiment, complemented by a highly criticized owner and GM, could have put Leftwich in a bad position from the start. That’s not a winning formula for any coach, particularly a Black head coach.
Like Flores’ decision to sue the NFL, Leftwich’s decision was not an easy one, but it was the right one to make.
