The yearly group photo of NFL head coaches occurred again last month at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix.
The photo is a big moment for the new head coaches who are appearing for the first time alongside many of their mentors and coaching role models. On the other hand, veteran coaches often keep each year’s photo in their desk drawer as a reminder of how short a coaching career can be in the NFL (Not For Long) league if you do not win.
However, this year also served as a reminder to some NFL observers about the lack of racial diversity in the head coaching ranks of a league where a majority of its players are Black. Also, the photo was taken in the backdrop of a lawsuit filed last year by former Dolphins head coach (and now Vikings defensive coordinator) Brian Flores which states that the league is “rife with racism.”
“I will acknowledge our representation of diverse head coaches, in particular Black coaches, is certainly below our expectations and is not where anyone wants it to be or knows it needs to be,” NFL Senior Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Jonathan Beane told AP last week. “We have way too much talent out there to have the representation among head coaches that we have.”
At the same time, the league points out that the number of minority club presidents (5) and general managers (8) is the highest in league history.
“These (front office) roles are extremely vital,” says Beane, who joined the league in 2020. “There is no role that is less important than the other. Head coach is vital, but GM is just as important. President is just as important. They all drive to the success of the organization, and you need all three of those thriving in order to be successful. When we look at whether we’re making progress, we have to look at all the roles in an organization, especially the senior roles. So, it’s not just head coach. All the other roles are vital and determine the success or failure of a club.”
In order to have a single point of accountability in this area, each club going forward is required to have a person in charge of diversity, equity and inclusion in its organization.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Shell became the first Black head coach in modern NFL history when he was named to the Raiders job in 1989. While progress has been made since then, the NFL office continues to look for ways to see how the clubs can do even better in order to have more diversity in our 104-year-old league.
