Of the 327 full-time coaches and general managers hired since 1990, USA TODAY Sports found that 40 were Black or brown.įor the purpose of this project, USA TODAY Sports looked at full-time hires made from 1990 through the start of this season, and classified a general manager as someone who had control over the coaching staff in addition to the 53-man roster.Įven the adoption of the Rooney Rule in 2003 has not brought greater diversity. OPINION: Hall of Famer Tony Dungy destroys the myth of the poorly interviewing Black coachīut results since then have been abysmal. WILL HE OR WON'T HE? Eric Bieniemy is ready to be a head coach. People who would have the power and influence to create a pipeline of talent so NFL owners couldn’t fall back on the excuse that there weren’t any good Black and brown candidates. When Art Shell became the first Black head coach in the NFL’s modern era in 1989, the hope was that his hiring would lead to more opportunities for other coaches of color, as well as general managers. “We’re stuck,” said Tony Dungy, the Hall of Fame coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts. “I don’t know if you can force people to make good decisions.” The Falcons had no comment other than to point out what they are doing this hiring cycle. The Falcons have never had a person of color as their full-time coach or GM.īut the Falcons are not alone, according to USA TODAY Sports analysis of NFL hiring practices since 1990.įour franchises – the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – are responsible for 32% of all the Black and brown coaches and GMs hired in the past 30 years, while Atlanta and six other teams have not had a single person of color in either of their two most important positions. It’s also out of character for the Falcons. The five candidates who interviewed for the GM job are all Black or brown, and the Falcons do not plan to interview anyone else. While the Rooney Rule requires teams to interview at least two people of color for coaching openings, the Falcons have interviewed four. In need of both a coach and a GM, Atlanta’s interview list is filled with Black and brown men. With the NFL currently having just three coaches of color and two Black general managers, the Atlanta Falcons seem to be sending a message that teams really do understand it’s no longer enough to pay lip service to diversity. 2019 Rushing Efficiency Rankings NFL Draft Contentĩ.Watch Video: Which NFL team is the best fit for Eric Bieniemy? You can find all of this information in spreadsheet form here. This discussion between ESPN’s Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre on race and front offices addresses the major reasons why this is the case and offers some perspective on how we can make some change on the ground level. Not a surprise but still damning 100 seasons after the league was created. This is, unfortunately, the least diverse grouping of the column. The Browns hiring a 32-year-old from Harvard with a Master’s in Computer Science to become their next GM may be the major domino to fall in what could be an all-out analytics race.Ībout 80% of the current NFL GMs are in their 40s or 50s, with the Browns’ Andrew Berry (32) being the youngest and Cowboys’ Jerry Jones (77) being the oldest. I’m betting on that changing over the next two decades. That means it is fair to assume most current NFL GMs did not have a college background that included the study of data and analytics. The only GMs with a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics degree are Saints’ Mickey Loomis (accounting), Bucs’ Jason Licht (biology), Browns’ Andrew Berry (economics), Broncos’ John Elway (economics), Patriots’ Bill Belichick (economics), and Rams’ Les Snead (psychology). Few current NFL GMs graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM-related field.