NFL: Yearly Coaching Carousel
It's getting towards the end of January and that means two things for the NFL:1) The Super Bowl is right around the corner
2) Racism is on display regarding coaching hires
At the end of almost every season, the doormats of the NFL fire their head coach and go in search of another "right man for the job" to lead their franchise to Super Bowl glory. And right on the heels of these new hirings, the charges of racism began to emerge from pointy-headed sports writers and self-appointed "leaders" in the black community. According to these fine folks, not enough minority coaches are being hired to fill head-coaching vacancies.
Their argument is completely illogical and fraught with stupidity.
I have always made the contention that racism is simply bad for business and that is never more true than in the world of sports. A sports franchise exists for one reason only: to win. Winning means money. Everyone may love the game, but (like any other business) if you are not making money you will not be in business very long. Are we supposed to believe that such deep-rooted racism exists among NFL owners and general managers that a qualified minority candidate would be intentionaly passed over for a less qualified white candidate? How absurd does that sound? Regardless of ones personal beliefs, would they really choose to forego success in order to maintain their racist agenda? Of course not.
The NFL has chosen to handle this problem by insisting that at least one minority candidate is interviewed for every head coaching vacancy (smells like a quota, huh?). The NFL is a private organization and they can run it as they seem fit, but to me this only exacerbates the issue. It's telling minority coaches that you are not good enough to get an interview on your own, so we will force the hand of your prospective employer. The sad fact is that this rule has made it more difficult to hire a minority head coach as some minority coaches have declined interview offers because they do not want to be the token minority interview.
Would you rather have a job interview based on your glowing resume or based on a quota system? Unfortunately, the NFL has choosen to throw dignity and respect out the door in favor of social experimentation.
posted by TinyElvis @ 11:14 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Let's look at this issue with a little more care. Yes, the NFL is a private enterprise and should be run as such. That doesn't excuse the myopic perspective of owners and GMs when it comes to hiring head coaches. Of the 10 head coaching vacancies, only two were filled with coaches with previous NFL head coaching experience. Dick Jauron is the new coach of the Bills. He had a sub .500 record with his previous team (Bears) and led them to the playoffs only once in five seasons. Despite this, he's coaching again. The Chiefs hired Herm Edwards, an African-American eminently qualified for ANY head coaching position. The other eight teams? They all hired white assistants with NO head coaching experience. Should they be allowed to do that? Absolutely. Is it right? Hmmmm. For the most part, team owners are good ol' boys who hire good ol' GMs and they hire good ol' coaches. Norv Turner is a horrible head coach. He has been far from successful at all his stops. Why does he keep getting hired? Ray Rhodes bombed in Green Bay some time back. Apparently, that was his first and only chance to be a head coach. Sadly, the NFL has a "quota" system for INTERVIEWS, not hiring. Is it patronizing? Yes, but it's necessary or else teams would never interview minorities. Some time ago, Matt Millen bypassed all interview protocol to hire Steve Mariucci. And how did he work out for the Lions? Granted, Mariucci had been successful at his previous stops, but Millen owed it to his team to at least consider other candidates. Given the chance, Lovie Smith might have wowed Millen in an interview back then. No dice, so Smith went on to coach the Bears and he had great success this season. Are team owner racist? Probably not, but they certainly give white coaches more opportunities. You speak of dignity and respect. Imagine you're a bright and qualifed minority assistant desperate to make your mark as a head coach. How dignified and respected would you feel knowing that the Norv Turners and Dick Jaurons of the world are constantly rewarded for mediocrity?
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