I’ve thought about this for a long time, and until this past week I did not know if I was selling black coaches short.
Black coaches in the NFL are more than capable of leading men, but continue to be disrespected and embarrassed by the owners of the NFL.
You can whine and blame Rodger Goodell all you want, but it’s the owners who make the Final decision about what goes down in the NFL. Goodell can only incentivize hiring black and minority coaches, but the owners make the final decision.
Again, until a black owner is brought into the owners box of the NFL, nothing will ever change. It took years for a black quarterback to be seen as capable of being the face of a franchise. It took black quarterbacks with almost divine ability to get the chance to play QB. So what makes you think the owners will give black coaches that same opportunity.
But what if, what if the qualified NFL black coaches decided to take their talents to the HBCU level to be head coaches? Turn schools like Bethune Cookman and Alabama State into college football powerhouses.
Hue Jackson made the statement on the Pivot; hosted by Fred Taylor, Ryan Clark, and Channing Croweder. I immediately was on board with the idea.
(Video Clip via /The Pivot)
We’ve seen what Deion Sanders was able to do at Jackson State and the job Eddie George is doing at Tennessee State in their first year at their respective HBCU programs. I can only imagine what HBCU football could look like with a Brian Flores, Byron Leftwich, or a Eric Bieniemy running things.
I think about the quote Tyler Perry made about asking for a seat at the table. “While you’re fighting for a seat at the table. I’ll be down in Atlanta building my own.”
The NFL is the ultimate table for football, but there are tables like the HBCU table that would appreciate the experience and knowledge a NFL head coach could bring to that level.
I think this is as good as any time to put the HBCU programs back on the map.
This will not fix the problem the NFL is having when deciding to hire black head coaches, but it would be a direction that could improve opportunities for HBCU player to make it to the NFL.
I also continue to push the notion that the HBCU programs should depart from the NCAA and create their own league, but that might be a long shot….. or maybe not.
Either way, changes must be made.