Because I watch my share of ESPN (and not a second more), I've been hearing about the whole issue of black head coaches in the NFL over and over again. And I don't disagree that discrimination has probably run wild in the NFL throughout it's history, just like in every other segment of American society. And it's probably still going on in some places on some level to this day. But what I don't quite understand is exactly how many black head coaches the NFL has to have before we can consider this problem solved. Black people make up about 12 or 13 percent of the population of this country. At this point in time, 9.375% of NFL teams have a black head coach. If the 49ers' blind stumble through the dark head coaching closet nets them a black head coach, that'll be up to 12.5%, or about the same percentage as blacks make up in the general American population. A lot of people would be pretty happy if 12.5% of Congress was black, and yet I somehow doubt that percentage among NFL head coaches would satisfy anyone. Should it? And if not, why not?

Okay, there's the fact that about 60% of players in the NFL are black, and that's presumably the result of people getting jobs because they deserve them. The racial percentages among the players of the NFL are clearly not in line with those of the population of this country, but I don't see any way to argue that this is a result of discimination. Now if the argument is that the percentage of black coaches should more closely resemble that of black players, I'm not sure I understand that. If NFL head coaches were drawn exclusively from the pool of former players, I suppose one might expect that the racial percentages among coaches would resemble those among players. But is this a reasonable expectation? The skills required to be a coach certainly differ from those required to be a player, and with the percentage of black players so unrelated to the percentage of black people in the US, I don't see any reason to expect it to bear much resemblance to the percentage of black coaches. And anyway, being a former player is not necessarily a qualification for being a head coach, so I don't see any reason the percentage of black head coaches should resemble the percentage of black players.

So, what should be the percentage of teams with a black head coach in the NFL? I think most people would agree that there is no set percentage that would suddenly make everything okay were the NFL to achieve it. Once it can be said honestly that there are no longer qualified black head coaching candidates being discriminated against in the hiring process due to their race, I would say the problem has been solved. There will always be black people who could be considered qualified for a head coaching job who don't have such a job. There are more than 32 people in the world qualified for the job, but there are only 32 jobs. This means qualified candidates of every race will be without a job at all times. When a job opens up, if candidates are considered based on their qualifications, regardless of their race, all will be well. I'm not sure the NFL is on this track now.

The Cowboys and Lions have both recently hired white coaches without seriously considering any black candidates. This is in violation of league rules, although the Lions seem to be the only ones getting in trouble for it. And while the league rules are well intentioned, in these particular cases, I don't see either team as having done anything wrong. Parcells and Mariucci were clearly the most qualified of the available candidates, based on their experience and history of winning. Of course, this creates a vicious cycle, where black coaches have a difficult time gaining the experience that would make them qualified for the job because they don't have the experience to get the job in the first place. But I just don't see how two frachises in desperate need of a good coach can be faulted for going with the relatively sure thing rather than taking a chance on an unknown quantity.

Basically, I'm just saying that there's no specific number of black head coaches that would suddenly signify equality in the NFL. And forcing teams to interview black candidates that they have no intention of hiring isn't the way to get there either. After decades of discrimination, attaining equality in NFL hiring practices will take time. Getting more black head coaches while there are still very few black assistant coaches, general managers or owners will be rather difficult, and it certainly won't mean the end of racial disparities in the NFL as a whole. Trying to get more blacks at these positions, whether by encouraging teams to hire black assistant coaches and front office personnel, or by actively seeking out black owners when a team is for sale, might be a better way to really solve the problem of inequality in the NFL.

On a side note, why doesn't anyone complain about the lack of Asian or hispanic head coaches? Aren't these minorities underrepresented, even moreso than blacks?

Feel free to contact me and tell me I'm an idiot. Spring training starts next week, so I'll start working this page into the groove of All Baseball, All the Time soon.  ¶ joe | 10:58 PM |