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AFM Magazine


Stagnant Change

While the hiring of Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame is a huge step, the overall number of African-Americans hired as head coaches is declining.
by: Steve Silverman
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It’s not about interviews. It’s not about getting close. It’s not about making a good impression.

It’s all about getting the job.

For minority coaches, it’s time that progress is measured by the actual number of head-coaching slots that get filled. In the past, African-American coaching candidates had a hard time getting interviewed for head-coaching positions and when those interview chances came about, they were done with a wink and a wry smile.

“Sure we interviewed a black candidate,” an athletic department administrator might say. “But the guy we hired just blew us away in the interview.”

Meanwhile that black candidate never had a chance to do anything but allow the school to check off the box that said a minority candidate had been interviewed and met an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requirement.

“The only thing I care about is results,” said Floyd Keith, the executive director of the Black Coaches Association. “I don’t care about good intentions, who had a good interview, who didn’t, excuses and reasons. At this point, I want to see progress. I want to see hires. The rest of it is just rhetoric.”

Don’t mistake Keith’s bluntness for anger. He has just lost patience with a system that has been very difficult for minority head-coaching candidates to negotiate. Last year, there were 13 college football coaching openings at the end of the season. The only African-American coach to get hired was Tyrone Willingham, who was given the keys to the kingdom at Notre Dame following the George O’Leary fiasco.

While Notre Dame may have had a few ordinary seasons under Bob Davie in recent years, none of the luster has come off the Golden Dome from a coaching perspective. If Willingham can stop the bleeding at South Bend and get the team back in national championship contention – nobody expects this to happen overnight – he will become one of the most powerful college coaches in the country. Because of his hire, he’s already among the most visible and it’s just a matter of time before he is put under the microscope and scrutinized by demanding Irish fans.

The hiring of an African-American coach at Notre Dame is a huge step, but it was the only college head-coaching position filled by a black coach last year. Willingham had been head coach at Stanford, so his hiring at Notre Dame did not represent a net gain among minority coaches. Also, Louisiana Lafayette’s Jerry Baldwin was fired last year after recording a 6-27 record in three seasons.

As a result, only four African-American coaches will be leading the nation’s 115 Division 1 programs. In addition to Willingham, Michigan State’s Bobby Williams, New Mexico’s Tony Samuel and San Jose State’s Fitz Hill are the other minority head coaches.

“One of the arguments we continued to hear from the institutions was that they would certainly have entertained interviewing someone if they had known about them,” Keith said. “So we sent a list of qualified candidates to every Division I-A president and athletic director. If you’re doing your homework, you would research that list.”

Among the 53 names on that list is former Raider head coach Art Shell, Jet defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, Ram defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, Texas A&M offensive coordinator Dino Babers and Michigan assistant head coach Fred Jackson.

Making sure those who are in a position to hire head coaches are aware of all the qualified candidates is one of the responsibilities that the BCA sees for itself. Additionally, the BCA also wants to make sure that those in charge of the hiring process are accountable for their actions.

The BCA also wants to use all the political influence it can muster to get minority candidates hired to head-coaching positions and would also not hesitate to use its financial influence on institutions that continue to ignore qualified candidates.

“We want to be able to use all the tools that are at our disposal to advance the hiring of qualified minority candidates,” Keith said. “Please understand that I continue to use the word ‘qualified.’ We’re not saying that institutions should hire an African American simply to fill a vacancy. We’re saying that legitimately qualified candidates are out there who deserve to be hired.”

Keith said a couple of hirings last winter were troubling to him.

“We are disappointed that individuals are getting second and third chances and that some are coming from the XFL and the junior college ranks,” he said.

According to figures released by the BCA, the 3.5 percent of black head coaches in Division I-A football declines even more when Division I-AA, Division II and Division III are added.

Excluding historically black institutions, Keith said, only 14 of 547 head football coaches are black. The NCAA said that entering last season, 16 Division I-AA coaches were black, but that figure included historically black institutions. The NCAA said it had no figures for Division II or Division III.

Keith said he did not have any issues with the NCAA itself, which has gone to great lengths to try and help with the issue of minority hiring. The key is with the member institutions that hire the head coaches.

“Let’s face the fact that this is a very difficult issue for many schools,” Keith said. “It takes great courage to break with tradition and hire somebody who is outside the mold. Those that do the hiring have to get past their fears and find the most qualified people. If they actually go out and get the most qualified person for the position, we feel confident that minority candidates will be hired based on their merits.”

At some point, however, the BCA may call upon its members and supporters to have a financial impact on schools that ignore qualified African-American candidates. Not only would the BCA consider asking its members to stop making financial contributions to a particular school, but it might also ask prospective student-athletes to stop considering schools that refused to hired qualified candidates.

A financial boycott is among the last steps the BCA would take if African-American candidates continue to get ignored in the hiring process. As more minority coaches become qualified for head-coaching positions, the group tries to use its political influence to get their candidates hired.

“We’re well past the point where schools would say publicly that they wouldn’t consider a minority candidate,” Keith said. “But that doesn’t mean they truly are giving consideration. We have to find out if they are sincere or not in their attitudes and policies. Much of the hiring process can be a game. It’s ‘Who you owe’ and ‘Who you know.’ “

In the NFL, Dennis Green was fired by the Vikings after the team endured a miserable 7-9 season following the tragic death of Korey Stringer in training camp. The team unraveled from that point forward and even though the Vikings had been a regular playoff performer during the Green era, owner Red McCombs fired him after 10 years on the job.

As a result of that firing, the NFL only has two active African American head coaches in Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Herman Edwards of the N.Y. Jets. Dungy is coming off a six-year run in Tampa Bay, but the Bucs sent him packing largely because the offense never became a legitimate threat.

The Colts immediately began courting Dungy, whom they believed would be able to build them a defense. Since they already had a tremendous offense – led by Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison – they believe that Dungy has a chance to lead the team to greatness.

Edwards led an undermanned Jets team to the playoffs last year and is viewed as one of the best young coaches in the game. The key to Edwards’ coaching style is his ability to reach and relate to his players. He is an intense motivator who simply knows how to get the most out of his players.

Edwards – the fifth African-American head coach in NFL history – has looked to Dungy as a mentor. Dungy believes that Edwards has great coaching skills at bright future in the NFL.

“Herm understands that hard work and doing things right are very important and that talent alone doesn’t get it done,” Dungy said. “He’s translated that to his players. When he was with me in Tampa, I let him know what I was thinking and what my philosophies were and he seems to have gotten the lesson on how to get the job done. He has instant credibility. He will not get distracted from the job at hand.”

Edwards may be able to fulfill the promise that he demonstrated in his first year. If he can follow in Dungy’s footsteps and Willingham can restore Notre Dame’s former luster, minority candidates will have a better chance at getting those head-coaching opportunities that have been kept out of their grasp for so many years.





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