There is always a huge turnover during the NFL offseason. But we’ve never seen anything like this.
For the first time in league history, four men of color — including three Black men — have been hired as head coaches in one cycle: Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons; Jerod Mayo with the New England Patriots; Antonio Pierce with the Oakland Raiders; and Mexican American Dave Canales who was just given the reigns with the Carolina Panthers.
“It’s tremendously significant. Two years ago, we were talking about how we couldn’t get the number to move up. This year, it seems like it’s moved the needle pretty well,” said Adrien Bouchet, director of The Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sports and author of this year’s NFL report card on hiring.
“I think it’s a big deal and should be treated as such,” Bouchet added in his conversation with MSN.com.
Not to say the NFL doesn’t still have work to do. The hiring of the four coaches brings the total to nine in the NFL, one more than the previous record. However, that number is still just 28 percent of a league where 70 percent of its players are men of color.
Moreover, the Atlanta Falcons hired a Black head coach, Raheem Morris, for the first time in team history. Same with the New England Patriots with the hiring of Jerod Mayo. Furthermore, MSN reports that eight teams have never hired a man of color and three more have not hired one since the 1990s.
However, “[The NFL] has come a long way and it does need to be acknowledged,” Bouchet said.
