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Friday 1 February 2019

AP analysis: Few minority NFL coaches in top offensive jobs

By DAVE CAMPBELL and head coaches in a league turned a four-win team into es with ties to Dungy and his of the 32 head coaches in
JOSH DUBOW whose players are nearly a Super Bowl participant Tampa 2 defensive system the NFL came from defen-
AP Pro Football Writers 70 percent black has been in just two seasons, might were the hot commodities. sive backgrounds. This year,
After all the points were reduced from eight to four have accidentally had Four of Dungy's former de- 20 of 32 will be offense-
piled up in the second- in just one year. Not since some effect. fensive assistants — all mi- minded. In 2015, six of the
highest scoring season in the first year of the Rooney McVay's 35-year-old quar- norities — went on to get seven new hires had de-
NFL history, the popular pro- fensive backgrounds. In the
totype for a head coach four offseasons since then,
became predictably clear. 21 of the 28 head coaches
Teams on the annual hired came from offensive
coaching carousel this win- backgrounds.
ter searched for their own "For whatever reason, the
version of prodigy Sean opportunity for minority
McVay, the creative play coaches seems to be stron-
caller and quarterback ger on the defensive side of
whisperer who took the Los the ball and the coaches
Angeles Rams to the Super that have advanced to be-
Bowl in his second season come head coaches from
at the helm. the minority perspective,
An Associated Press study most of them have come
of coaching staffs for the from the defensive side,"
2018 season found only four said Steelers president
minorities in the stepping- Art Rooney II, son of Dan
stone positions of offensive Rooney. "It's something we
coordinator and quarter- need to look at: 'How do
backs coach, just 7.1 per- we improve the opportuni-
cent of 56 jobs. That lack ties on the offensive side for
of minority coaches in the minority coaches?'"
pipeline helped contribute This Dec. 30, 2018, file photo shows, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin during an NFL There were 11 minority de-
to the NFL's sharpest-ever football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, in Pittsburgh. fensive coordinators in the
one-year drop in minor- Associated Press league in 2018, along with
ity head coaches, caus- Flores, who has called sig-
ing concern among ad- nals this season for New
vocates for diversity, who Rule will a season begin terbacks coach Zac Taylor head coaching jobs: Tom- England but was listed of-
declared there has been with fewer minority head is expected be the next lin, Herm Edwards, Lovie ficially as the linebackers
unsatisfactory progress 16 coaches in the NFL: Flores, head coach in Cincinnati Smith and Leslie Frazier. coach. But only one of-
years after the Rooney Rule Anthony Lynn (Chargers), despite only five games of Raheem Morris also got a fensive coordinator (Eric
was implemented. Ron Rivera (Carolina) and experience as an interim head coaching job after Bieniemy of Kansas City)
The rule named after late Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh). offensive coordinator in the joining the staff with Tampa was a minority. Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh owner Dan To be fair, none of the firing NFL. Bay after Dungy was fired, recently doubled that total
Rooney was put in place or hiring decisions made Matt LaFleur, 39, replaced and Dungy's former offen- by hiring Byron Leftwich,
before the 2003 hiring sea- this offseason was viewed Mike McCarthy as head sive coordinator in India- who started 2018 as one
son and now requires all in a vacuum as unjust. Since coach in Green Bay with napolis, Jim Caldwell, got of only three minority quar-
teams to interview at least the start of the 2016 season, just two years of offensive head coaching opportuni- terbacks coaches in the
one minority candidate for Bowles, Jackson, Joseph, coordinator experience on ties with the Colts and De- league before also becom-
any head coach or gen- Lewis and Wilks combined his resume. Kliff Kingsbury troit Lions. ing interim offensive coordi-
eral manager vacancy. for a record of 50-132-2, a got the top job in Arizona After a season in which the nator in Arizona.
But the AP study found that woeful winning percent- shortly after being fired as four conference finalists Of the 20 offensive head
nearly three-quarters of age of .277. Collectively, a college head coach at were the four highest-scor- coaches in the league,
all minority assistants were however, this development Texas Tech. ing teams in the league, 16 served as offensive co-
either running backs, re- has prompted diversity ad- "I think it is cyclical," Dungy the emphasis is firmly on of- ordinators before getting
ceivers, defensive backs vocates to call on the NFL said. "I also think a lot of fense. hired and 17 spent time as
coaches, or in lower-level to consider changes that owners don't know or un- "Ratings are up. Points quarterbacks coaches or
positions like quality control could help ensure this is a derstand what goes into scored are higher. People played the position in col-
coaches — jobs that histori- blip rather than a trend. being a successful head love offense. The rules have lege or the pros. That is a
cally have not directly led "Dan's proposal was to slow coach. If I coach my gone to offense. So there's path that only a handful of
to head coaching oppor- things down and see what quarterback really well I a bias toward offensive minorities are on.
tunities. coaches you want and try will have a good team, head coaches right now," "I think teams are looking
So when five black head to come up with a minority of course, and they feel Carolina Panthers owner too much at the play call-
coaches were fired this candidate or candidates the guy who coaches the David Tepper said, while ers versus a guy that can
past season — Todd Bowles that fit that criteria, and quarterback really will be praising the NFL's efforts be the CEO of an organiza-
(Jets), Hue Jackson (Cleve- people are not doing that a successful head coach, to enhance ground-level tion, a face of the organi-
land), Vance Joseph (Den- now," said Hall of Fame but we have seen that's opportunity and aim for zation, a guy that can lead
ver), Marvin Lewis (Cincin- member Tony Dungy, who not necessarily the case. more minorities in the paths a football team and get
nati) and Steve Wilks (Arizo- was one of two minority For every Doug Pederson that typically lead to head the most out of his players,"
na) — only one of the eight head coaches in the NFL or Sean McVay, who are coach positions. said Lynn, who spent 14
overall openings went to a when the Rooney Rule great, we see (many) who Of the 19 minority head seasons as a running backs
minority with New England was enacted in December don't work out." coaches in the league coach before serving as
defensive assistant Brian 2002. The hunt for the next Mc- since 2002, 14 had primar- an interim offensive coor-
Flores set to be hired by Mi- The success of McVay, who Vay is similar to what hap- ily defensive backgrounds dinator for Buffalo the year
ami after the Super Bowl. was hired at age 30 by pened starting more than a including Bowles, Joseph, before getting hired by the
Thus, the ranks of minority the Los Angeles Rams and decade ago when coach- Lewis and Wilks. In 2015, 17 Chargers. q