As the NFL kicks off the 2024 season, just six Black head coaches are steering their teams, and a notable matchup in week one saw two of them go head-to-head in Atlanta. The Falcons, led by Raheem Morris, squared off against the Pittsburgh Steelers, under the guidance of Mike Tomlin.
Morris is the first Black full-time head coach in the Falcons’ 58-year history. Tomlin is the longest-tenured coach among active coaches in the NFL.
“Man, I love my brother, and I wish him the best moving forward,” Tomlin told rolling out after the Steelers defeated the Falcons 18-10 on Sept. 8. “That’s what I said to him after the game. Man, you know, this is what we do; but, that’s my little brother, and I’m proud of him.”
The NFL started the 2024 season with a record nine head coaches of color out of the league’s 32 teams, thanks to efforts by the Fritz Pollard Alliance. In addition to Tomlin and Morris, the Black coaches include: Houston Texans’ DeMeco Ryans, Las Vegas Raiders’ Antonio Pierce, New England Patriots Jerod Mayo and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Todd Bowles.
The Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales is Mexican American, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniels identifies as biracial and the New York Jets’ Robert Saleh is of Lebanese descent.
In week one, Black coaches went 4-2, and coaches of color went 5-3, with the Jets playing on the night of Sept. 9.
