Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt and newly unemployed former Houston Texans coach David Culley have something in common. They were both fired for undisclosed “philosophical differences” by their employer.
“Until NFL owners understand and welcome diversity in earnest and realize that coaching staffs and front offices that boast leadership of varying backgrounds can make for a stronger product, the rejections, double standards and tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will remain nothing more than shams,” USA TODAY columnist Mike Jones wrote.
Culley’s dismissal means the NFL has just one Black head coach. This is one less than Major League Baseball, which seems impossible. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stands alone. Managers Dusty Baker of the Houston Astros and Dave Roberts of the L.A. Dodgers at least have each other.
It should be noted New York Jets head coach Robert Salah became the first Muslim NFL head coach last season, and Ron Rivera remains the lone Latino coach.
The New York Giants finally got around to firing Joe Judge as head coach last Tuesday. Culley’s ax swung a day later. This leaves eight NFL head coach openings. Certainly, one or more of the jobs will be offered to a Black candidate. Wait, did I say certainly? Let’s make that hopefully.
Joe Banner, who is a white former NFL general manager and executive, said via Twitter on MLK Day, things could change this offseason.
“I am helping a few teams with their coaching searches. I have 6 coaches that I am recommending as the top six,” he wrote. “Four of the six are minorities. Change is coming soon, even if it’s not all we hope for this year. I have never been able to say this so confidently before.”
There are three Black NFL general managers, and three GM positions are open.
The NFL is aware of its problem, but the league doesn’t hire and fire coaches and GMs. If the embarrassing situation of one Black head coach out of 32 teams is to change, team owners must make it happen.
Black men comprise over 70% of NFL players. Of the 24 NFL head coaches as of Tuesday, 0.041% are Black.
“Any criticism we get for lack of representation at the GM and head coach positions, we deserve,” Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice and chief diversity and inclusion officer, told the Associated Press Jan. 15. “ We see that we’re not where we want to be. We have to do much better. We’re focusing on all roles at the league, and all these roles are key roles. But certainly, at the top of the house, general manager, and head coach, that’s the responsibility of the NFL to make sure that we are representing our current fan base and we’re representing those that are in the league today. And if you look at it right now, we’re grossly underrepresented.”
The NFL had to threaten taking the Super Bowl from Phoenix in 1986 for the state of Arizona to grudgingly accept Martin Luther King Day as a holiday. On the evening of MLK Day 2022, players from the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals had MLK decals on their helmets.
“Until NFL owners understand and welcome diversity in earnest and realize that coaching staffs and front offices that boast leadership of varying backgrounds can make for a stronger product, the rejections, double standards and tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will remain nothing more than shams,” USA TODAY columnist Mike Jones wrote. “So why bother?”
The answer, for now, will come in the next few weeks.
The Reid Roundup
The 2022 class for the Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced Jan. 25. As of Monday, Barry Bonds had yay votes from 77.1% of voters who gave permission to have their votes released to the public. He needs 75% to be enshrined. Unfortunately, in past years many of the cowardly voters who don’t identify themselves or their ballots tended to spurn Bonds…Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first Black player, had his No. 22 retired by the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night. Because of COVID-19 caution, O’Ree was part of the celebration from his San Diego home…
A friend of mine while I was at USA TODAY Baseball Weekly, Roscoe Nance, will be inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame later this year. Nance was the first Black sportswriter at the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, and covered SEC and HBCU football for many years before moving to USA TODAY. Nance died in January 2020…
Forbes has ranked tennis champions Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams as the top two highest-paid female athletes of 2021. Osaka, 24, had $57.3 million in pre-taxed earnings, and Williams was second with $45.9 million. Both players made the bulk of their earnings through endorsements.
