Richard Sherman left fuming as black coaches are ignored for inexperienced Josh McCown in Texans HC interview
As the Houston Texans look to lock down Josh McCown as their next head coach, Richard Sherman is one of those sounding the alarm about what it means for representation of minority coaches in the NFL.
This is of particular concern now, as Richard Sherman seemed to indicate, that Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the only black coach in the NFL now after the firing of Brian Flores from the Miami Dolphins and of David Culley from the Houston Texans. The loss of David Culley to be potentially replaced by Josh McCown would mean a net loss of one black coach in the league.
Richard Sherman did not hold back when the news came to light that McCown is now being interviewed for the head coaching position. Sherman pointed out that this is just one example of black coaches getting ignored.
"When ppl ask, 'What do you mean black coaches get overlooked for less qualified candidates?' This is ONE example [of] this cycle," Sherman wrote on Twitter.
When ppl ask, “What do you mean black coaches get overlooked for less qualified candidates?”. This is ONE example this cycle. twitter.com/mikefreemannfl…
Richard Sherman's concern with Josh McCown as Texans head coach
Josh McCown's probable elevation to a head coaching role points to two disturbing trends in the NFL regarding black head coaches. The first is that black assistant coaches and head coaches, who have more experience and track record of success are often not considered.
The #Texans completed an interview with Josh McCown for their head coaching position today.
One could point to the two black assistant coaches that Richard Sherman currently works with at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Both are reigning Super Bowl champions and are again in the playoffs this year. Yet it seems they are being ignored in favor of an inexperienced white former player like Josh McCown, who has no coaching experience.
It also makes a mockery of the Rooney rule, where teams were supposed to make a good faith effort to interview at least one black candidate for the post of head coach.
In fact, in the case of the Houston Texans, the act of getting rid of David Culley raised eyebrows, considering he had the same number of wins (4) this season as the Texans did last season with a severely depleted roster that did not feature the likes of Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt.
It also points to a wider malaise where white former players are given a direct line to the hot seat that is often not available to black players. To Richard Sherman's point, it smacks of preferential treatment for white players. Former players, even quarterbacks like Tee Martin, have had to work their way up the coaching tree and have never been handed a top job on a plate.
While each franchise has a choice to appoint to their coaching staff whoever they want, Richard Sherman has a point when he says that there are many qualified black coaches and former players who do not get the same opportunity that Josh McCown is getting.