I heard a joke the other day. I had been searching for an interesting introductory device for a paper, the kind of intro device that would grab a reader's attention and refuse to loosen its grip until the reader had finished the wild and exciting thrill ride that would be my writing....No, saying that my writing could possibly be an exciting thrill ride type adventure was not the joke. The joke went something like this... What do you call a white man standing next to a bunch of black men? The coach.
Unfortunately, this is not just a joke, it's a stereotype widely accepted in professional athletics. White men can't jump, and black men can't coach. The coaching 'white-out' is most visible in collegiate football.
Two candidates emerged for the head-coaching job at Auburn University in 2008. One candidate, Gene Chizik, had compiled just five wins, compared to nineteen losses, in his two seasons as head coach at Iowa State. The second candidate, Turner Gill, had won three national championships as a quarterbacks coach and assistant coach at the University of Nebraska. He then took over a Buffalo University team, in 2006, that had won just ten games over the previous seven seasons. He turned the program around, leading them to their first Mid-Atlantic Conference championship game, and winning it. The unsuccessful Chizik was chosen for the job over the more qualified Gill. Gene Chizik is white. Turner Gill is black.
Cases like Turner Gill's are not isolated situations. The coaching bias is spread across the nation. At the conclusion of the 2008 NCAA football season, only three coaches in Division 1-A football were black, the lowest total in the last fifteen years. In the one hundred and seventeen Division 1-A schools, one half of the student athletes who play football are black. Is it logical to have just three black coaches? Though most severe at the head coaching ranks, there are a similarly low number of black assistant coaches and coordinators. Twenty five percent of assistant coaches in the NCAA are black, as are just thirteen percent of offensive and defensive coordinators.
What is the cause of the abysmally low number of black coaches? The blame may fall on the athletic directors, who hire the coaches. Over ninety-five percent of the athletic directors in Division 1-A are white. Might there be a direct correlation between the fact that over ninety-five percent of the men who hire the coaches are white, and over ninety-five percent of the coaches being hired are white? The low numbers of black assistant coaches and coordinators could also be a factor. The candidates most often chosen for head coaching positions are other head coaches, and successful assistant coaches and coordinators. If there continues to be a low number at each of these positions, there will continue to be a low number of qualified black candidates for head coaching jobs. Increasing the number of black athletic directors, assistant coaches, and coordinators will lead to more opportunities for head coaching work.
What to do though? I do not have the answer. In 2002, in response to similarily low minority coaching numbers, the NFL instituted the "Rooney Rule" which required teams to interview minority coaches for head-coaching opportunities. However, the NCAA does not have the jurisdiction to enforce this type of rule over the colleges. It would not be a rule, more like a guideline or suggestion..and suggestions don't change statistics.
What an abrupt, unresolved way to end this...but I really don't feel like typing anymore...I guess the thrill ride flew off the tracks..and decided to go to bed?