Tony Dungy is a legendary coach. A Hall of Famer and the first Black coach to win a Super Bowl.
He is a soft-spoken man with the power, intelligence, credentials, and faith to back up his words and beliefs. So when Tony Dungy speaks, it’s time to pay attention.
Coach Dungy decided to put words into action by penning a powerful letter to NFL owners about the embarrassing hiring situation we all witnessed this offseason. With seven NFL head coaching vacancies, six went to white coaches. Only one, the Houston Texans job, went to a Black coach. Despite a list of qualified Black coaches which includes men like Anthony Lynn, Jim Caldwell and Eric Bieniemy, Black coaches were basically blanked from the process.
In his letter on NBCSports.com, Dungy stressed the need for owners to open their eyes and foster change.
“Dear NFL Owners,
I’m writing to you today because I have a great love for the National Football League, just as you do, and want to see it be the best it can be. And I believe our league has a problem that only you can fix. We are not putting the best product possible out on the field. We have an exciting game and great competition. We will have a fantastic Super Bowl that will cap off a season where we overcame great adversity due to this pandemic. The NFL has a lot of things to be proud of, but we are not giving our fans, or our players, the best possible game. We are cheating our fans and we are cheating ourselves. And you are the only people who can change this.“
Dungy nullified the argument of hiring the best people in order to win, challenging them to look at ALL qualified candidates, and not just some.
“if you take a look at the hiring landscape of the last four years you will certainly come to the conclusion that is not true.”
He also addressed the problem Black quarterbacks faced and continue to face when being considered at the professional level.
“In 1978 Doug Williams, an African American who would later quarterback Washington to a Super Bowl championship, was the first quarterback selected in the draft that year. Had the NFL finally turned the corner in utilizing all the talent and putting the best players on the field? No! There were 13 other quarterbacks drafted that year, all of them white. Warren Moon was not one of those selected, despite having been the PAC-8 Player of the Year and MVP of the Rose Bowl. He signed in Canada and led the Edmonton Eskimos to five Grey Cup titles before finally getting to sign an NFL contract. Hindsight tells us that Doug Williams and Warren Moon were the best QBs of that class. But Moon, an eventual Hall of Famer, was somehow overlooked, even though every franchise was trying to win and trying to put the best players on the field.”
“The owners eventually took on this problem. While Black QBs still face unique challenges, there is a different mindset for coaches and scouts. Lamar Jackson did not switch positions. Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson didn’t have to go to Canada to prove themselves and Russell Wilson is playing quarterback for the Seahawks, not second base for the Yankees. And the NFL is much better off because of it.”
Coach Dungy also got personal. He mentioned his coaching career and the frustrations he felt at seeing very few faces like his in the NFL coaching ranks. He also expressed his hurt at not being given the chance to play quarterback in the NFL.
“You should know how much it hurt me in 1977 to graduate from college and not be given a chance to try to play QB in the NFL. It hurt in 1993 to have coordinated the number one defense in the NFL and not get an interview for one of the five head coaching openings that year. But I have to tell you it hurts even more to see African American coaches going through the same thing almost 30 years later. And it will hurt to see four African American coordinators in this Super Bowl who will be questioning whether they will actually get an opportunity to be a head coach in the foreseeable future. And this is hurting our league.”
The solution, he proposed, lays with ownership. They have to decide to open their eyes. They have to stop repeating the same actions. They have to decide to do better.
And he’s right. As much as we all fight for change and criticize when the same types of coaches are hired each year, only those in power can truly change a very broken system.
“That’s why I’m writing this letter to you. Because ultimately you are the decision makers that determine the direction of the NFL. Are those decisions going to simply involve trying to win Super Bowls and be profitable, or will they be about making the NFL the best it can be? I’m suggesting, and history has shown, you don’t have to choose. I’m asking you to keep the legacy moving forward and make the NFL the best league we can be. And I’m believing that you’re going to do that. Please show me that my faith in you is justified.
Sincerely,
Tony Dungy“
Coach Dungy just won again.
You can read his full letter here on NBCSports.com.
