list of black nfl head coaches

Hue Jackson was an NFL head coach with two franchises for four seasons. But the league still has plenty of veteran greybeards that have seen success at the very highest level. And then I say, "Okay, well I'm not going to tell you how to spend your money, but I'm going to tell you before you spend your money, you have to go through this process." He had a long career in the NFL working his way up through the Pittsburgh Steelers organization and eventually becoming the only black general manager in the 60-year history of the Buffalo Bills. Dungy later became the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Only one of five NFL head coaches hired this offseason was Black. 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. 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.. He has an overall record of 62-50 in seven seasons. 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. When he took over in Houston at age 73, he became the oldest head coach in NFL history. He compiled a record of 21-32. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Flores was replacing Adam Gase who was 23-25 in three seasons, as he went 24-25 in three seasons. | Source: Wesley Hitt / Getty. Art Shell became head coach of the then-Los Angeles Raiders in 1988, a job he held until 1994, after the franchise moved to Oakland, according to the Raiders website. In the text message, Belichick confirmed Daboll had already secured the job, but Flores had not yet interviewed for the position. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Pittsburghs Mike Tomlin and Houstons David Culley are the lone Black head coaches in a league thats over 70 percent Black. He served as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under then-head coach Brian Flores during the 2021 season. Green served as the head coach of the Vikings for 10 seasons (1992-2001), earning a playoff berth eight times. 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. 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. 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. We should be able to have a system where the best person for the job gets hired, not the person you know the best. I think that might be part of the answer to why it exists, but I certainly don't think it's the entire answer. 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. 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. 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. 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. Jackson claims the Browns incentivized losing while he was head coach in order to increase the teams odds in the NFL Draft. Bowles was hired after Rex Ryans roller coaster ride with the Jets ended with a 4-12 finish in 2014. He says that there's been some improvement with diversity in the coaching ranks. Suicide Note Revealed After Shocking Death, Indicted! He was fired 8 games into his third season and finished with a 3-36-1 record. He was named the Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1995. He is currently the Bills' defensive coordinator. He was replaced by Vic Fangio who was fired on Sunday. The Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin and the Tampa Buccaneers' Todd Bowles are the only current Black NFL head coaches. said his lawsuit will not be deterred regardless of whether he is or isnt an NFL head coach next season. Tucker was the interim head coach of the Jaguars for the last five games of the 2011 season. Schad says this goes back a while. Heres Every Black Head Coach In NFL History Relationships play a big part too. There is an old boys network and there's a network where you're going to really protect and promote your own. In the suit, Flores cites text messages from New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, who said he believed he was contacting Brian Daboll, another coach interviewing for the New York Giants head coaching position. Just 25 of them have been Black. I think leadership's basic premise is can you get people to do things that they necessarily don't want to do just because of you? Whaley is part of a group that launched One Global Culture Events, which helped minority candidates in pro sports connect with upper management. Thanks to Tyler Dragon, Tom Schad, Doug Whaley, and Andrew Brandt for joining me. All Rights Reserved. Below is a look at every Black coach thats been hired since then and a snapshot of their story. Green was picked up in Arizona after Dave McGinnis had three consecutive losing seasons in the desert. The new wave of head-coaching hires in the NFL has seen a trend toward younger, offensive-minded leading men getting the top jobs. Emmitt Thomas. 2. Andrew Brandt would know. His saying was, "It's great to have a mentor, but it's even better to be a mentor." In 2000, there were three Black coaches in the league. During a nearly 40-year career coaching in the NFL, Robiskie was named an interim head coach twice once during the2000 season for the then-Washington Redskins and then during the 2004 season with the Cleveland Browns, according to the Pro Football History website. Mike Tomlin, Brian Flores and David Culley are the three NFL coaches. The league is being sued by Brian Flores, former Miami Dolphins head coach. Revisiting Dolphins scandal, Pollard became the first Black coach in NFL history when he was named co-coach of the Akron Pros in 1921. Specifically, Flores claims hes had multiple incidents of racial discrimination that involved several teams, as well as coaches and executives around the league. 12. Cully was 4-13 this past season. Reich's firing after Week 9 was a bit of a surprise. All Rights Reserved. said his lawsuit will not be deterred regardless of whether he is or isnt an NFL head coach next season. 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? A more diverse pipeline could help down the road. 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. Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Emmanuel Sanders. He was replaced by Zac Taylor who is currently 16-32 in three seasons. Tomlin has been the coach of the Steelers since 2007, making him the second-longest tenured coach in the NFL behind only Bill Belichick. That's what we'll be discussing today. Yeah, if I bought something for a billion dollars, which is the minimum going price these days, I'd want to be able to hire who I want to hire is what I'm thinking is going through these owners heads. We see coaches, as I mentioned, like Ron Rivera, Mike McDaniel, Robert Saleh, not exclusively African American. Wilks is the current interim head coach of the Panthers, but he got his first shot at the top job with the Cardinals, going 3-13 in 2018. Whaley says women and minorities struggle to break through In this insular world. 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. Shane Steichen, Offensive Coordinator, Eagles. Shane Steichen (left) and Jonathan Gannon will be among the top candidates in the next hiring cycle. The next year he was fired after starting the season 5-10. 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 compiled a 34-32 record in four seasons and was replaced by Brandon Stanley. He lost his single game with Buffalo and finished 33-31 with Los Angeles. Thomas was the Falcons head coach for just four games before the team decided to hire someone else for the job in the offseason. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. He has taken the Pittsburgh Steelers to two Super Bowls since 2007 with one. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/W1bXqGIfl0 Thomas was named the interim head coach of the Falcons in 2007 and went 1-2 after Bobby Petrino's sudden resignation. Frazier was thrown into the fire in Minnesota in 2010 when the Vikings let go of Brad Childress after he started the season 3-7. Flores was fired on Monday despite leading the Dolphins to seven straight wins in the second half. There were five black NFL head coaches at the end of the 2022 season. 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. 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. He returned to coaching when he took the head job at Arizona State in 2017. There were five black NFL head coaches at the end of the 2022 season. All three have had very successful careers while . The NFL wants more, or so . Flores finished 24-25 in three seasons with the Dolphins (2019-2021) and remains connected to the franchise. Notably, Jackson responded to Flores lawsuit by claiming he was subjected to similar treatment described in the complaint. Sandra Douglass Morgan - President of the Las Vegas Raiders. Lynn was the interim head coach of the Bills for one game in 2016 before becoming the head coach of the Chargers from 2017-2020. There have been six head coaches of the Houston Texans, a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas, United States.The Texans play in the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).. Mike Tomlin, Mike McDaniel, Todd Bowles, Lovie Smith, and interim head coach Steve Wilkes. Dungy later became the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. He has captured two AFC championships and one Super Bowl title. 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. 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,, Heres Every Black Head Coach In NFL History, 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. Anthony Lynn, who is black, went from running backs coach directly to head coach. For perspectives sake, the NFL entered Black History Month 2022 with just one single Black head coach despite its vow a decade earlier to increase diversity among its head and assistant coaches. That certainly lines up with what Flores lawsuit is alleging. 4. Singletary went 5-4 as the interim coach to finish out the season. Personality's always going to play a big role. The rule was expanded in 2009 to include general managers as well as other front-office positions. Morris, who is the current defensive coordinator of the Rams, served as the head coach of the Buccaneers (2009-2011) and Falcons (2020). Thomas was the Falcons head coach for just four games before the team decided to hire someone else for the job in the offseason. Art Shell became head coach of the then-Los Angeles Raiders in 1988, a job he held until 1994, after the franchise moved to Oakland, according to the Raiders website. Anthony Lynn was a head coach in the NFL for two teams over the course of five seasons. It seems like football fans in the media have the same conversation every year, where are all the black head coaches? The Lions also had two playoff berths in four seasons, as compared to one playoff appearance in the previous 14 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. Hue Jackson was an NFL head coach with two franchises for four seasons. The fact is that Flores claims are hardly unique and help bolster critics suspicions that the NFL is intentionally trying to keep its head coaching ranks as white as possible despite the leagues so-called Rooney Rule, a policy that requires teams to interview at least one diverse candidate when looking to hire new coaches. He is currently the linebackers coach for the Steelers. 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. Dungy enjoyed a Hall of Fame career from 1996-2008, racking up 139 wins and 69 losses across 13 seasons with the Buccaneers and Colts. "What do you do". 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.