Crackback Blog

ESPN: A call to civil rights action in college football

2008-12-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

The following article, referencing Dr. Fitz Hill, was published on ESPN.com on Monday. An excerpt is provided below. For the full article, click here.

A call to civil rights action in college football

By Richard Lapchick

Special to ESPN.com

Monday, December 8, 2008

It is time to declare a civil rights movement in college football.

We need a new game plan. We need a new arsenal of weapons that will change the hiring practices for head football coaches. What we have now is a failure. We also need to revitalize the system of public education that produces our college student-athletes.

You don't really need a study to conclude that three African-American
head coaches out of 120 Division I-A schools -- in a sport in which 46 percent of the players are African-American -- verges on scandalous. That's the smallest number in 15 years.

Members of the Black Coaches & Administrators are beside themselves. That includes Floyd Keith, the organization's executive director, who tells me that everything the BCA has tried hasn't worked.

"I was sure the Football Coaches Hiring Report Card would help move the issue and create more opportunities for coaches," he says. "While it has helped get more interviews for black coaches and more diverse search committees, we have gone backward instead of forward."

I was more than fortunate to be able to become friends with Grambling's legendary coach, the late Eddie Robinson, after being asked to co-author his autobiography with him. We first met in April 1997, when things were looking slightly better for African-American head coaches. At the time, there were eight, an all-time high.

When he passed in April 2007, I was honored to be asked to deliver a eulogy. I told the 9,000 people assembled that Coach had hoped for so much more progress, but that there were fewer African-American head coaches that April day (there were six then) than there had been 10 years earlier when we met.

Eighteen months later, even that number has been cut in half. I told the audience that we need a rule in college sports similar to the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires people of color to be included in the interviewing process for head-coaching positions. I said we should call it the Eddie Robinson Rule.

We need it now more than ever.

Robinson also emphasized educating his student-athletes. He literally would walk through the dorms with a cowbell before dawn to get his players up and out to class. That 80 percent grad rate is a testament to his methods. He believed that historically black colleges and universities such as Grambling provide a special opportunity for students to succeed.

Coach would not be happy with the report released Monday by The Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida. It shows that the gap between the graduation success rates for white and African-American football student-athletes has increased from 14 percent in the 2007 report to 17 percent in the new study, although the grad rates for African-American football student-athletes has increased.

Dr. Fitz Hill, now president of Arkansas Baptist College, is one of the 23 African-Americans to ever be a head coach in the history of Division I-A football. Since he saw some illiteracy among recruits as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas in the 1990s, he has focused much of his career on creating programs to reduce and ultimately eliminate it. Hill says illiteracy is the No. 1 reason teenagers drop out of high school, and many of them wind up in jail.

Some illiterate teenagers get football scholarships.

Hill says, "While I was the head coach in San Jose State, I was recruiting a student-athlete in the Bay area. After watching film of this young man, I told the high school coach that I was going to recruit his player and offer him an athletic scholarship. The coach told me that I couldn't or shouldn't recruit this prospect. I asked why. Had he orally committed to USC, Cal or Stanford? He told me no and dropped his head. The coach hesitantly replied, 'The young man can't read.' Stunned, I said, 'You gotta be kidding.' Then I asked if this young man would be attending a tutoring session or a practice session when school was out. The coach said he would be going to practice.

"I thought, 'How sad,' and wondered how was this happening in 2002. Who would exploit a young man like this? How frequently does this happen? I would soon discover [it happens] more often than I realized. I then thought back to a situation where I was recruiting a student-athlete while working as an assistant coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks. We were having breakfast on his official visit and I told him to order anything on the menu that he wanted. He refused and told me to order for him. I finally understood that he couldn't read and was trying to hide it. This young man signed a football scholarship to play in the Southeastern Conference.

"But there are some questions that need to be answered. Who would pass these young men through grade school while not being able to read? What teachers and principals would do such a thing? Illiteracy is a form of mental incarceration which has greatly contributed to the quadrupling prison population over the last twenty years."
Hill, of course, is so right. Part of the problem of poor academic performance in college comes from poor preparation in elementary, middle and high schools in too many parts of this nation. I believe President-elect Obama will be proactive in getting more resources to these schools as early in his administration as possible. But no president will be able to bring about the wholesale change we really need.

So what do I mean by a civil rights movement in college football?

I mean we need more than just another African-American coach or two. We need organizations like the BCA, as well as traditional civil rights organizations, to organize at the grassroots level so that student-athletes and parents can let athletics departments -- and their elected officials -- know that they care about what is going on at our colleges and universities...

For the rest of this article, click here.

Dr. Fitz Hill

2008-12-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

Arkansas Baptist College President Fitz Hill discusses racism with respect to hiring college football coaches.

Purdy: College football no rainbow coalition

2008-12-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

By Mark Purdy
San Jose Mercury News Columnist

Tyrone Willingham comes to Berkeley this weekend for his final game at the University of Washington. The school fired him as football coach last month.

And what's next for Willingham?

"Something could be out there for me and something could not," Willingham told reporters this week.

Well, I can tell him what is almost surely not out there: another college head-coaching job.
Willingham has been a certified flop at Washington, losing 36 of 47 games. But wait a minute. Before that, Willingham won at Stanford and Notre Dame (at least more than beleaguered successor Charlie Weis. Some situations just aren't the right fit. There is no reason that, at some point, another university shouldn't hire Willingham. But the odds are way against it. Way, way against it.

As an African-American, Willingham's chances of becoming a head coach in the NFL are far better than doing so in college. Right now, with so much talk about the BCS and bowl pairings — and of all things, the jersey colors of USC and UCLA this Saturday — it has again been possible to ignore the far more significant issue of minority coaching opportunities at the top level of college football.

So here's a quick update: The situation is still shameful. Vexing. And preposterous. And getting worse, not better.

"I just wish people could feel the frustration that black coaches feel," Fitz Hill said the other day.
Hill, you may remember, was San Jose State's head football coach from 2001 to 2004, when he resigned after being coaxed to do so by administrators. Hill was one of the few in his profession with a doctoral degree — which he earned with a research thesis about the barriers faced by minority college football coaches. He has also testified on Capitol Hill about the subject.

Numbers don't lie. With last week's resignation by Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State, there are now just three African-American head coaches at the 119 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision. That's the fewest since 1993.

By my calculations, three coaches at 119 schools works out to 3 percent of the available opportunities. Meanwhile, in the 32-team NFL, there are seven African-American head coaches — or 22 percent of the available positions.

That means if FBS colleges simply want to match the NFL, then 23 schools would need to hire African-American head coaches immediately. Good luck with that. Willingham is hardly the only candidate. Currently at FBS schools, there are 31 African-American coordinators. You'd presume they are qualified to become head coaches. But so far, there are no reports of any being interviewed for current openings. Could you blame them for fleeing to the NFL?

The sad absurdity of the situation has obviously not escaped Hill's radar. After leaving SJSU, he made a right-turn career move and is now the president of Arkansas Baptist College in his home state. But he still monitors the status of the African-American college coaching progress — or rather, non-progress.

Full disclosure: Hill and I are working on a book project regarding this topic. Know what we've learned? The same craziness happens every year at this time. At the conclusion of the football season, there is a flurry of activity as coaches are fired and hired. Sometimes, on the same day.

And at the same school.

Hill calls this craziness the "hurricane season" because it's a storm of coaches coming and going that A) lasts just a few weeks and B) has no standards to ensure a fair interviewing process.

Hill has kept a day-by-day diary of the past few "hurricane seasons" as they unfold. He has been remarkably accurate in predicting, as jobs open up, which schools might hire a minority coach and which ones definitely won't. Hill will be starting a blog this year. You'll be able to find it, plus his previous year's diaries, on his Crackback.org Web site. I will also be contributing to the "hurricane season" blog there.

Hill isn't demanding that more African-American coaches be hired. He's just adamant that more African-American candidates need to be interviewed. It isn't that university administrators are racist. It's that many have a vision in their head for what they want their coach to look like — these days, the role model is Nick Saban or Pete Carroll — and allow that vision to limit the possibilities.

Often, the door doesn't just shut on minority candidates, it never even opens. The latest trend is for schools to designate successors to head coaches long before those coaches quit. Purdue did it last year. Texas and Florida State did it this year. Oregon did it this week, announcing that offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will be the new coach whenever Mike Bellotti retires.

In the NFL, that can't happen so routinely. The league mandates, through its so-called "Rooney Rule," that at least one minority candidate be interviewed for every job.

The NCAA has resisted any attempt to initiate an equivalent, claiming it cannot force such a regulation on member public institutions. But absent that, Hill is convinced, the system will stay the same. Big-money boosters will have major influence on the firings and hirings, another situation that doesn't exist in the NFL.

Hill even believes the election of Barack Obama, the country's first minority president, will lessen the pressure to hire minority football coaches. If an African-American can become president, how would African-American college coaches have a beef?

"Barack Obama was hired by the people," Hill said. "Coaches are hired by a small pool of administrators or boosters. It would be interesting to see if, had the president been selected by just the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives — or lobbyists — instead of all the voters of America, whether Barack Obama would have won."

"Hurricane Season" 2007: A Look at African-Americans in the Coaching Carousel

2008-12-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

Foreword by Mark Purdy:

This is Coach Hill’s diary that he wrote during the 2007 "hurricane season" and I helped him edit. We’re not sure how much of this will end up in the book we’re writing together but you’ll notice that Fitz was eerily accurate in his predictions. There were 18 job openings and three were filled by minorities, including one African-American, Kevin Sumlin of Houston. Coach Hill had that one pegged perfectly. The other two minority hires were Rich Rodriguez, of Hispanic heritage, at Michigan and Pacific Islander Ken Niumatalolo at Navy. If you had to give Fitz a grade on how he forecast and analyzed the situation as it unfolded, I don’t see how you the grade could be anything but a solid “A.”

DIARY OF THE 2007 HURRICANE SEASON

By Dr. Fitzgerald Hill

I have often spoken about the “hurricane season,” which comprises the short time period at the end of each year when college coaches are fired and hired in rapid order, often without any real process. It creates frustration and dismay among many coaches of color. For football fans to understand how that happens, after the 2006 season, I kept a diary about all the hirings and firings. You can find that in a previous chapter.

Well, here is the same exercise for the 2007 “hurricane season.” And this time, I guess I have to do something that will irk many people. I have to play the race card, just for this once. Before you get upset and call me an angry black man, let me pose a question: Do you think for a moment if Paul “Bear” Bryant would have been hired to lead the Alabama Crimson Tide in 1958 if he had been the same color as Sylvester Croom? Just be realistic and answer the question. That’s a long time ago – but as my statistics keep showing, the situation has not really improved that much.

When the Alabama job came open after the 2007 season, would you have bet money that Alabama’s next coach would have been an African-American? My point is this: race mattered then…race matters now. It is not that I think black coaches should get all the jobs. But I think that they should be considered seriously if they have the proper experience and qualifications. It doesn’t happen very often. In fact, African Americans have been hired as head coaches at predominantly white institutions a grand total of 27 times in the history of college football. Head coaching opportunities in college football should not be color coded. The proof is in the pudding and unfortunately, race still dictates employment opportunities for collegiate football coaches.

So. Let me now show you the pudding, 2007 version. Here’s what I jotted down, school by school, as coaches were dismissed and hired. I did it a little differently than in 2006. I noted the date of the dismissal, gave my ballpark estimate about the chance each school would hire a minority candidate and later returned to my journal to see if my prediction was correct (you’ll have to trust me that I didn’t cheat):

SMU

October 28, 2007. A day after the Southern Methodist University Mustangs lost at Tulsa by six points and was eliminated from bowl contention, SMU athletic director Steve Orsini said it was time for a change and fired Phil Bennett. Bennett’s record is currently 18-48 with four games remaining but he will be given the opportunity to finish the season.

Estimated chance that SMU will hire a black head coach: 25%. The school is a top flight academic institution. That type of reputation will usually give black coaches major consideration. For example, Stanford, Wake Forest, and Northwestern have all hired black head football coaches. But remember that if someone made 25% on a test, they would still receive an F.

The hire: Jan. 7, 2008 (Job search lasts 69 days). After nearly two and a half months, SMU was able to lure June Jones from Hawaii to the Big D to take over the Mustangs football program. Bennett ended up losing his final four games, so he finished his five-year tenure with a record of 18-52. ESPN reported that the boosters stepped up big to hire Jones. You can diagnose this hire as boosteritus. To be able to pay Jones $2 million a year, Orsini orchestrated a move by persuading 20 boosters to buy a share of Jones salary at $100,000 each. If the stock produces and pays big dividends such as winning the Conference USA football title, Orsini will be perceived as a genius. Jones was highly successful at Hawaii. He is an excellent football coach. His teams at Hawaii were always athletic. Coach Jones compiled a 75-41 record on the islands, including 4-2 in bowl games. His teams finished first in the WAC twice and second two other times. After going 12-0 in 2007, the Warriors were invited to play in the Bowl Championship Series where they lost to Georgia in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. In my humble opinion, this is an excellent hire for SMU. Coach Jones will be able to assemble some excellent talent at SMU because of the offensive system and his ability to relate effectively to players. The question will be if the administration will allow him to recruit at risk student-athletes who may be questionable academically and character wise. I also have one question: Would those same boosters have paid $100,000 each to bring in Sylvester Croom, who recently turned Mississippi State into a winner? Would they have paid that much to Tony Dungy, if he had wanted to relocate to Dallas? I will give them the benefit of the doubt, as it relates to Dungy. When you win a Super Bowl, it’s funny how the issue of skin color goes away. But I have seen too many boosters do too many puzzling things to believe it would be a slam dunk. Race always has an interesting dynamic on the hiring process. Best of luck to Coach Jones.

Baylor

November 18, 2007. Baylor terminated Coach Guy Morriss today. Morriss was unable to produce a winning record in five seasons, going 18-40 overall and 7-33 in Big 12 conference games. This move had been anticipated for several weeks. Baylor was once a respectable program but has not recorded a winning season in 12 years. I am going to be watching where Morriss finds his next job. It is very interesting to observe how terminated white head football coaches resurface as either coordinators or head coaches with other football programs.

Estimated chance that Baylor will hire a minority head coach: 40%. Rumors are flying that Mike Singletary, a Baylor alum and Pro Football Hall of Fame member because of his achievements as a Chicago Bears linebacker, will get the job. Coach Singletary is currently an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers. His football resume is impeccable. History tells me that he is not a lock because he is black. However, being an alum will increase his odds to 40%. What fans don’t understand is that any time a black coach is hired, the administration is thinking about the reaction of alums that support the program. With the proper infrastructure and financial backing in terms of facilities, Coach Singletary could possibly challenge Texas and other top-tier football programs for top recruits. Baylor is the largest Baptist educational institution in the world, which could rally support from the Baptist faithful around the nation. Every Baptist recruit’s parent will know of Baylor if they know anything about football. After l2 straight losing seasons, there is only one place for Baylor to go -- up. The question for a black coach is will he get the same five years that Coach Morriss received or will he receive the Coach Willingham treatment? You’ll note that I listed the estimated chance of a black head coach being hired at Baylor as 40%. But in my assessment, a “preferred” candidate has a 50% of being hired. So it is really difficult for me to get overly excited about 40%. Still, it is a lot better than “no chance.’’ And going by past history and trends, a black coach is going to get more of an opportunity simply because of Baylor’s 18-40 won-loss over the past five years. This is exactly the type of situation that Coach Singletary will be selected to take over. If Baylor would have recorded a 40-18 won loss record over the past five years with the head coach leaving for greener pastures, Singletary would have less than a 5% chance to be the head coach.

The hire: November 28, 2007 (Job search lasts 10 days). Baylor selected Houston head coach Art Briles, who will attempt to extricate Baylor from the cellar of the Big 12. This is a good hire. Coach Briles is a proven winner and he has recruiting ties in Texas from his high school coaching days. Rumors say that Coach Singletary was a little hesitant to jump into the fire at Baylor because he didn’t feel the commitment to win a national championship. He told at least one writer that he feared Baylor was going to use him more as a public relations person than a coach. Whether this was true or not, it is probably a good thing that he didn’t take this job. It would be like the NFL playoffs for him: Win or go home. History shows there are rarely, if ever, second chances for black coaches. Sad but true.

Michigan

November 19, 2007. Michigan has a vacancy. After 13 years, Lloyd Carr stepped down. Michigan is one of the top programs in the country with more than 100,000 screaming fans at every home game. There is a credible rumor that LSU coach Les Miles will be at the top of the list. Miles played for the legendary Bo Schembechler at Michigan and has served as an assistant coach for the Wolverines. This is likely to happen. In Miles’ contract at LSU, there is a clause that allows him to leave the school for the head coaching job at Michigan without penalty, the only school mentioned in such a manner. It appears to be a natural fit.

Estimated chance that Michigan will hire a minority head coach: 0%. Absolutely none. Think about it. At a school like this one, they will be forced to hire a “proven head coach.” The alums and boosters will accept nothing else. That profile does not fit many African-American college coaches because so few have even been given an opportunity to prove themselves at all. Michigan has publicly stated that it will interview Ron English, who is African American and served as the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator. But in my opinion, the interview is a smoke screen to try a get a passing grade with the Black Coaches Association, which monitors all the coaching openings and then passes judgment on whether any African-American candidate received a fair shake. There is no possible way that Michigan will hire a black man to lead the football program. A guy like Kirk Ferentz of Iowa fits the bill. He comes out of the central casting image that so many athletic directors often have in their heads that serves as the picture of what they think their football coaches should look like.

The hire: December 17, 2007 (Job search lasts 37 days). I was a little surprised that Coach Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia for Michigan. After all, he refused Alabama’s offer last year. This was a great hire for Michigan. I think Coach Rodriguez will do an awesome job. What he accomplished at West Virginia in my opinion is very close to miraculous. Just try recruiting a student-athlete to West Virginia. You’ve got to have a great coaching staff because it is not South Beach, although it is a very nice college town. Michigan hired itself a bona fide ball coach. I visited Coach Rodriguez at West Virginia in the spring of 2004 and he comes across as one nice individual. He will make the Big 10 more exciting to watch and I wish him the very best. He also is one of only two current Hispanic head football coaches in the NCAA. Michigan deserves some credit for that – though the net gain for minorities in overall hiring is, of course, zero. Rodriguez was already a college head coach. Will West Virginia even interview another minority candidate to replace him? I am dubious.

Texas A&M

November 24, 2007. Dennis Franchione resigned as the head coach of the Aggies. Coach Franchione took a buyout after going 32-28, far short of the expectations that Texas A&M had when it hired Franchione to replace R.C. Slocum in December 2002. Off-the-field distractions led to Franchione’s resignation. During the 2007 season, it was revealed that he sold inside information about his team to big-money boosters in a secret newsletter. It couldn’t have been for the money. Franchione had a reportedly base salary of $2 million per year. He must have just wanted to get some brownie points with the big money guys. What a bad decision. Texas A&M is an excellent job with unlimited resources. You can compete for a national title there.

Estimated chance that A&M will hire a minority head coach: 0%. It will be interesting to see if A&M will actually interview a minority. Not much that I can say about this job. In looking at College Station and the employment atmosphere there, it reminds me of the segregated facilities that used to be a part of the Jim Crow south.
The hire: November 26, 2007. (Job search lasts two days). Bam! This hire drives home my point. In less than 48 hours, A&M found its man -- former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman, a former Aggie assistant. Sherman spent 2007 as an assistant head coach with the NFL’s Houston Texans. The formal announcement of Sherman came with plenty of symbolism. At the press conference, John David Crow, the 1957 Heisman Trophy winner for A&M, shook hands with both Sherman and Slocum. It appeared that Franchione had alienated himself from many of the program’s old guard. Athletic director Bill Byrne said he wanted to rebuild some of those connections by bringing back Sherman. “I wanted to make sure that whoever we had come in here would be able to bridge the issues we had previously and build on strengths we had in the past, “Byrne said. “Mike can certainly do that.” Get the picture? In 2007 A&M is staying connected to its past -- and we know what that looks like.

Ole Miss

November 24, 2007. Just a few weeks after the University of Mississippi announced that head coach Ed Orgeron would be back in 2008, the third-year coach was fired. The decision was made a day after the Rebels were “Croomed” by Mississippi State, 17-14. This loss to Ole Miss’ biggest rival capped off a winless SEC Season for the first time in more than two decades. “Croomed” is a term now used when coaches are defeated by Sylvester Croom’s team at Mississippi State. In retrospect, it appears that Croom has been the catalyst for a few firings around the SEC the last few years. Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone felt the change was necessary. “I told him that the chasm had grown too deep to go forward into next year,” Boone said of Orgeron, though in my opinion, he had recruited very well. But he will not be around to coach the talent that he assembled. Ole Miss is in the lower tier of the SEC. Back in 2004, many observers question the Mississippi administration’s firing of head coach David Cutcliffe after the 2004 season. I am certain that when Boone and Ole Miss chancellor Robert Khayat fired Cutcliffe, what they had in mind was a better record than 10 wins in three seasons.

Estimated chance that Ole Miss will hire a minority head coach: Minus 30%. Remember, the rebel flag is hanging in the balance. Ole Miss had taken a chance in 2005 when it hired Orgeron, who had not been the coordinator of the University of Southern California talented defense. However, he held the title of an “assistant head coach” at USC and came highly recommended by the school’s head coach, Pete Carroll. Ole Miss was looking for someone that could lure talent to the Rebel program. It appeared that Orgeron “fit” the profile. But he had failed. Consequently, Boone cannot take another chance by “reaching” for a new head coach. Boone needs a proven winner that has head coaching experience. What does that mean? You guessed it. No opportunities for black head coaches. Stop and think for a moment. How realistic is it to think that Ole Miss would entertain the thought of hiring an African American? To believe that, I guess that I would need to “Have a Dream”. Ole Miss is not really a great job but you can compete in the SEC. The state produces a great crop of student-athletes on an annual basis. Also, there is a junior college football program within the state to assist non-qualifying prospective student-athletes in developing academically so that they can gain NCAA eligibility. Nevertheless, history has shown it is difficult to win consistently at Ole Miss.

The hire: November 28, 2007: (Job search lasts four days). Ole Miss didn’t waste any time. In a move much similar to A&M, it took Ole Miss just a few days to hire my friend and former boss, Houston Nutt. I am not sure the ink had even dried on Coach Nutt’s agreed settlement with Arkansas that allowed him to walk away from the job with more than $3 million dollars and no restrictions on his future coaching moves. Of course, hiring Nutt is a coup for Ole Miss. Coach Nutt fits the profile. He is a proven winner and will easily win over the fans in both Oxford and the state of Mississippi. But this is a win-win for both parties. I don’t expect Coach Nutt to be a Rebel very long. He will not make the same mistake he made at Arkansas of staying in the same place too long. Coach Nutt never told me this, but I would guess that if he could take back one strategic decision, it wouldn’t be a football play. It would be his choice not to get on the plane and fly to Nebraska in 2003 when that school wanted to hire him. Ole Miss got what it needed in a head coach and Coach Nutt received a nice severance from Arkansas, plus a raise of nearly $800,000 at Ole Miss, where he will earn an annual salary of $1.8 million.

Nebraska

November 24, 2007: Tom Osborne couldn’t take it any more. “We used to be a team people hated to play because they felt it for two or three weeks afterward,” Coach Osborne said during the news conference in which he announced the firing of Bill Callahan. Four years earlier, Nebraska athletic director Steve Pederson had hired Callahan to resuscitate the school’s program. But Callahan never lived up to expectations, although the Cornhuskers did reach the Big 12 championship game in 2006. The termination of Callahan will cost the university more than $3.1 million because that was the buyout provision in Callahan’s contract, which was to run through the 2011 season. This contract was offered him by Pederson before the 2007 season – but when the team began losing, Pederson was fired by the university. School officials asked Coach Osborne, Nebraska’s head coach from 1973 to 1997, to return and serve as an interim athletic director. Osborne, who subsequently served the state as a congressman until 2006, agreed.

Estimated chance that Nebraska will hire a minority head coach: 1%. The media has reported that the front runners to replace Callahan are Turner Gill, the head coach at the University of Buffalo, and Bo Pelini, the defensive coordinator at LSU. I can give Gill just a 1% chance to be hired. Gill was the Huskers’ quarterback during the early 1980’s and then became a longtime assistant under Osborne and his successor, Frank Solich. I am told that Gill and Osborne communicate with each other frequently. But playing quarterback for Osborne and being selected as head coach of the Nebraska nation is not the same thing. If you could bleach Gill’s skin, given his resume and playing field success, I think his chance of becoming his alma mater’s head coach would go from 1% to 99%. I hate to say it, but I just don’t think the boosters are ready for a black head coach in Cornhusker country. Not yet. I give Nebraska credit for making it look like Gill is actually being considered. But as honorable a man as Osborne is, I don’t believe he can pull the trigger. If this was the National Football League and Osborne was the General Manager of the team, it would be a lot easier for him to select Gill. But in college football, the boosters and fans (mostly white) will always influence the selection process, no matter how objective Osborne tries to be. We will see if this situation gets infected by boosteritus.

The hire: Dec. 3, 2008 (Job search lasts eight days). Boy, I am getting good at this, if I do say so myself. Bo Pelini was selected by Osborne to lead the Cornhuskers. “We need a head coach with strong defensive credentials and great leadership,” Osborne said. It’s the first head coaching job for the 39-year-old Pelini, who spent three years at LSU orchestrating one of the nation’s top defenses. Pelini was the favorite all along. He had served as Nebraska’s interim coach after Frank Solich was fired following the 2003 regular season and went on to coach the Huskers to an Alamo Bowl victory over Michigan State. It was reported by the media that as he walked off the field in San Antonio, Husker fans chanted “We want Bo.” When Gill was running the triple option to perfection for Nebraska, the fans screamed and yelled for him and applauded his effective leadership. It’s too bad that fans don’t perceive that the same leadership skills needed to win championships on the field can also be applied to players of color when they want to become head coaches. In this instance, I think of Doug Williams, the former Grambling quarterback and Super Bowl winner, who received plenty of cheers as a player but didn’t receive enough support from college football administrators when he was seeking a Division 1A head coaching job. I still believe he would have been a great coach at that level. Instead, he left college sports entirely and became an NFL executive. What a loss for all college football fans.

Northern Illinois

November 26, 2007: Northern Illinois football coach Joe Novak announced his retirement after his team finished 2-10 this season. The 62-year-old Novak spent the past 12 years as head coach. Novak compiled a 63-75 record while guiding Northern Illinois to unprecedented success, including two bowl games and seven straight winning seasons from 2000-06. He also coached NIU to three wins over top 25 teams. In 2003, the Huskies beat No. 15 Maryland and No. 21 Alabama and were ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation. They set a school record with 10 wins. Considering what he accomplished, I would say that he did a superb job. As one of his players described his accomplishments, “He took it from nothing and made it into something.” It is going to take someone with a similar attitude and work ethic to continue building on what Novak had birthed. Because this is not the most high-profile job with the most rabid fan base, I think Northern Illinois should be able to give strong consideration to a strong minority candidate with a coordinators’ experience. However, I would recommend to a minority coach that he make certain the school gives him at least the same amount of support as Novak before signing the contract. Support for minority coaches has a tendency to evaporate because if key alums are not enthusiastic about hiring minorities, they won’t donate as much money – and with a program this size, just a few big-bucks alumni who withhold their support can make a crucial difference.

Estimated chance that Northern Illinois will hire a minority head coach: 25%. Although for the reason I stated above, a minority coach is a real possibility, but in my gut I don’t think it will happen. The school’s campus is in DeKalb, IL, which is not an urban community. Blacks make up less than 10% of the population there. And Novak’s achievements may make it more difficult for the administration to reach out with a minority hire. Although 25% is not zero, it is still 25%.

The hire: December 13, 2007 (Job search lasts 17 days). As the umpire would say in baseball, “you’rrrrrrr safe.” That is what Northern Illinois did by hiring Jerry Kill from Southern Illinois. It made a non-risky hire by tabbing someone familiar from within the state of Illinois. Kill was 56-32 in seven seasons at Southern Illinois, which plays in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly I-AA. If athletic director Jim Phillips’ statement about the hiring process is correct, the Black Coaches Association will give them an A for their grade of the employment process. “We cast a net as wide as possible – 1,261 bios to be exact that we went through,” Phillips said. “I know coach Novak’s exhausted and I’m exhausted.” Novak was allowed to assist the athletic department during the coaching search, a good move because he was certainly worthy of being able to lend input. Phillips said, “The goal in the end was to find the right institutional fit and I know that we did.” I wish more schools would implement this process. Normally, resumes and bios don’t mean anything. Do you think Ole Miss and A&M reviewed more than 1,000 resumes? Yet even with the process, I wonder if a minority candidate was a finalist. I guess it is all in the fit.

Washington State

November 26, 2007. The school announced that Bill Doba is not returning as football coach. Following a 5-7 season in which Washington State missed going to a bowl for the fourth consecutive year, a mutual decision was reached between athletic director Jim Sterk and Doba for the coach to step down. Doba, 67, said that with all the negative press he was receiving, plus internet gossip about his status, it was going to be difficult at his age to go out and effectively recruit. According to Sterk, Washington State will launch a nationwide search for a replacement. He noted that former WSU Coach Mike Price, now head coach at UTEP, would be considered for the job if he were interested. Sterk also said that the school will seek minority candidates. This will be interesting.

Estimated chance that Washington will hire a minority head coach: 35%. This job is on the west coast, where history has shown there are apparently more open minds and more individuals receptive to having a black coach serving as the face of a Division I football program. Also, Sterk specifically said that minorities would be considered. If he is sincere about that statement, he doesn’t have to look very far. The guy most deserving, with the best understanding of the west coast football culture, is DeWayne Walker. He is the defensive coordinator at UCLA. Walker has coached in the NFL, has worked with Pete Carroll at USC and possesses all of the ingredients to be a successful head coach. He can recruit Los Angeles and California, which is where Washington State must find players if it is to compete in the Pac 10. There are other candidates, as well, but Walker would be my choice. I can even allow myself to imagine that both of the major football programs in the same state might be led by black football coaches? Outside of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), that would be a first. Such a possibility shouldn’t make a difference as Sterk makes his choice. But the fact that Coach Willingham has not been spectacularly successful at Washington probably doesn’t help an athletic director build a case with his fan base for hiring another African American – because, as I have noted many times, black coaches tend to be evaluated collectively while white coaches are evaluated individually.

The hire: December 11, 2007 (Job search lasts 15 days). Washington State reached out and grabbed an alum, Paul Wulff, who had served as head football coach of Eastern Washington University for eight years. Wulff played center for the Cougars from 1985-89. He recorded a 53-40 record during his Eastern Washington tenure. He was Big Sky Conference coach of the year in 2001, 2004 and 2005. This hire doesn’t surprise me, but I really did believe there was a strong possibility that a minority would get strong consideration for the job. Perhaps one did behind the scenes. But there was no report in the press about that. Sterk’s initial statement about specifically seeking out a minority coach cut two ways. It was good to declare that the job was open to anyone – but when an African-American coach is subsequently not hired, it really dampens the hope of black coaches. One positive is that Washington State did go down to the I-AA level and hire a qualified football coach. I wish that when administrators did that, they would also look at the I-AA programs at historically black colleges and universities, where the coaches are also often minorities. But that never seems to happen. And when you exclude those historically black institutions, the 1-AA football programs are actually less diverse than the 119 division I-A programs.

Southern Mississippi

November 26, 2007. Head coach Jeff Bower had 14 consecutive winning seasons, but that wasn’t good enough for the administration. He was forced to resign after 17 years as head coach with a 119-82-1 record. The Southern Mississippi athletic director, Richard Giannini, said fan discontent had increased during a season when the Golden Eagles were expected to win the Conference USA title, but fell short at 7-5. “I said all along I was disappointed and people were disappointed in the season, and I don’t change that statement,” Giannini said. This one is hard to figure. Bower enjoyed much success during his tenure. Maybe his personality wasn’t engaging but the bottom line is that he won games and was respected in the profession by the media and his peers. He was named the conference’s coach of the decade in 2004 and was coach of the year in 1997, 1999, and 2003. Whoever follows Bowers will need to contend for a conference title in the very near future.

Estimated chance that Southern Mississippi will hire a minority head coach: 1%. The only reason that I give Southern Miss a 1% chance is I heard that they were going to interview Tyrone Nix, the defensive coordinator at South Carolina. He was an assistant coach at Southern Miss earlier in his career. Also, Nix is an alum of the school, so that increases his cachet. Nevertheless, Southern Miss is still in Mississippi. And I just don’t feel that the Golden Eagles will follow in the footsteps of Mississippi State’s groundbreaking hire of Sylvester Croom. In a way, that hire actually takes the pressure off Southern Miss to make the same sort of move. But if the Golden Eagles’ administration decides that it wants to hire the very best coach regardless of color, Nix must be considered. This will be an interesting hire because in my opinion, Southern Miss will have a tough time replacing Bower with another coach that has head coaching experience. Southern Miss is not the sort of place that usually lures successful head coaches from other Division 1-A schools. So the school will likely have to go for someone at the coordinator level. If so, Nix should have a great shot.

The hire: December 12, 2007 (Job search lasts 16 days). Well, Nix was nixed. Southern Miss hired Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator, Larry Fedora. The athletic administration is hoping that a more exciting offense will increase season ticket sales. Fedora emerged as the front-runner after his interview. He does bring impressive credentials. In 2007, the Oklahoma State offense averaged 33.4 points and 484.1 yards per game. In addition, the Cowboys had the nation’s seventh-ranked rushing offense at 245.3 yards per game. Overall, the offense was ranked ninth in the country. Nix is a defensive coach, so if Giannini was looking for some offensive fireworks in his next head coach, then perhaps Nix wasn’t the right fit.

Duke

November 26, 2007. The axe continues to fall. Today alone, five coaches were “outplaced.” The fourth coach to go was Ted Roof, fired two days after Duke concluded its season with a 1-11 record and a ninth straight loss. The Blue Devils won four games in four years. According to athletic director Joe Alleva, “It boiled down to the fact that we just didn’t see enough improvement on the field this year to warrant having Ted come back for next year.” Even so, Roof believed that he was still just one year away. He told those close to the program that Duke could be bowl eligible as soon as 2008. But no matter how you look at it, Duke is a basketball school that fields a football team. If football were not required for membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Duke probably would strongly consider dropping football. The last time Duke had a successful team, it was under the “Old Ball Coach”, Steve Spurrier. Because of this, Duke football boosters know that winning is possible, but they probably believe they need another Spurrier type (offensive genius) to be competitive and reach bowl eligibility. In my opinion, with the expansion of the ACC that has added some tougher football schools such as Virginia Tech and Miami, it will be very difficult, if not impossible for Duke to win a conference football championship.

Estimated Chance that Duke will hire a minority head coach: 51%. I am speculating that the chances are greater than not that Duke will hire an African American football coach. This is the type of team--a struggling program at a smaller private university--that African American football coaches usually are hired to lead. My data points in this direction. What does Duke have to lose? As I noted, football there is below the radar. So I am not certain the boosters would mind at all if the school administration hired a black football coach. The situation at Duke is reversed, compared to most schools. Basketball is king there. The most prestigious position on Duke’s campus is not school president or head football coach – it is the head basketball coach position. That job is held by Mike Krzyzewski. He’s the person that everyone associates with Duke. When he decides to retire, I am certain the administration will probably attempt to replace him with a similar image.

The hire: December 16, 2007 (Job search lasts 20 days). My first miss of the “hurricane season.” Duke hired David Cutcliffe, the Tennessee offensive coordinator and a former head coach at Ole Miss. I did think the Blue Devils would hire an offensive-minded man. After Karl Dorrell was terminated at UCLA one week into Duke’s search, he was mentioned as a candidate. I really thought he had a legitimate shot at getting the job. In my opinion, he would have been an excellent “fit”. Dorrell is a proven winner with tremendous recruiting contacts. But if he would have accepted the challenge of attempting to win at Duke, his winning percentage would have suffered tremendously. The administration found the right person. Duke athletic director Joe Alleva hired headhunter Chuck Neinas to assist the search. Alleva and the other six members of Duke’s search committee interviewed six candidates before selecting the 53-year-old Cutcliffe. His head coaching record at Ole Miss from 1999-2004, wasn’t shabby. In fact, he actually did a very good job. I had some personal dealings with Coach Cutcliffe and he is a first-class individual. I am not certain Duke could hire any better. Alleva must have felt the same way. When Cutcliffe wins six games, he should be named national Coach of the Year.

Georgia Tech

November 26, 2007. Today was truly Black Monday in the world of college football, especially if you were a head coach. Chan Gailey recorded a 44-32 record at Georgia Tech and never had a losing season in six years. Nevertheless, he was terminated today. A thorn in his side was that he had six straight losses to rival Georgia. ESPN reported that the 55-year-old Gailey had also lost support among the fan base, which made fundraising difficult. “Obviously, he didn’t agree with the decision, but he understood there’s a business aspect to this,” said athletic director Dan Radakovich. “As far as Xs and Os, Chan is a very good coach. But there’s more to it now. College football is more than just Xs and Os, especially in the competitive market where we are.”

Estimated chance that Georgia Tech will hire a minority head coach: 0%. Atlanta has a strong reputation as a progressive urban city because of the success and progress of African Americans there. But even in a place that some refer to as the “Black Mecca” of the United States, based on what Radakovich said as it related to the firing of Gailey, I am most certain that Georgia Tech will not hire a black coach. He basically states that there was a business aspect to his decision. He needs to be able to raise more money to generate more financial support and he didn’t think Gailey had the personality to do that unless he was winning 10 games each year. With that in mind, I am most certain that he is not going to replace a winning football coach with African American candidate. Tech does have a black basketball coach and in the land of Dixie, I am confident that having both a black football coach and basketball coach wouldn’t set well with the money boosters of Georgia Tech. So I repeat, there is absolutely no possible chance that Georgia Tech would hire an African American…trust me.

The hire: December 8, 2007 (Job search lasts 12 days). Tell me I don’t know what I am talking about after researching this topic for the last 20 years. Paul Johnson, who has led Navy to a 45-29 record in six seasons, was hired to replace Gailey. Although the profession needs more diversity, Johnson is an excellent hire for Georgia Tech. Will he win more than Gailey? That is the million dollar question. Johnson’s resume is very impressive and winning consistently at the Navy Academy is no easy feat. An African American candidate, Charlie Strong, defensive coordinator of the defending BCS Champions Florida Gators was reportedly considered. It would have probably been better to say that Strong’s name was mentioned, not considered. Did he even get an interview? Not from my information. I feel sorry for Strong. He has a strong resume but I know that he must feel like the invisible man. I hope that he will soon get the opportunity that his resume deserves. This is a continuing theme with me, I know, but I believe that if you gave Strong’s credentials to a white coach, he would have been hired a long time ago.

Arkansas

November 27, 2007. My friend, Coach Houston Nutt resigned as head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. According to ESPN.com, University Chancellor John White was told by Nutt that it was time to close a chapter in his life. “Houston’s decision to resign was neither forced, or encouraged, or requested,” White said. I sincerely believe that Nutt left his dream job, the only job he had ever wanted. However, over the past two years the unified fan base became fractured due to turmoil surrounding the program. Nutt stepped down with 10-year record of 75-48 (.610) and three Southeastern Conference West championships, including two trips to the league title game. Nutt will not be without another head job very long. There are several openings and he “fits” the profile of a Division I head football coach. Some athletic director will hire Nutt almost immediately.

Estimated chance that Arkansas will hire a minority head coach: 0%. Don’t even think about it. I’m an alum of the school, receiving my doctorate in 1997. There are a bunch of great people in Arkansas. I know and love most of them. But I believe it would take an African American with the credentials of Tony Dungy – a Super Bowl winner -- to be seriously considered for the position. Dungy is not available. Even if he were, I am not sure he would be a lock for the job if he applied. Razorback fans are some of the most passionate people that you will find any where in the country. But like many states in the south, Arkansas has so much room for improvement as it relates to race relations. But I am not certain we comprehend the problem in all of its complexity. Consequently, it is hard to communicate the solutions effectively to those that do not want to listen or really do not desire a change of the status quo or power structure. As I listen to the radio and read the papers about prospective head coaches to replace Coach Nutt, you rarely ever hear the names of African American coaches in the conversations or articles. I am wondering why the Arkansas athletic director, Jeff Long, did not interview Sylvester Croom. His accomplishments at Mississippi State have been close to miraculous. I did hear the names two black coaches “mentioned” during the head coaching search. They were Arkansas native Charlie Strong, whom I mentioned above in relation to the opening at Georgia Tech, and Michigan defensive coordinator, Ron English. It has been reported that Long had interviewed English. Ron is an excellent football coach and did a terrific job the two years that he led Michigan defense. But he has absolutely zero chance of becoming the head coach at Arkansas. My point: Even in a state that claims to be the land of opportunity, race matters in 2007 as much as it did for black football coaches in 1977. What was the chance that Coach Frank Broyles would have selected an African American coach to replace him in 1977 when Broyles hired Lou Holtz? Zero! What is the chance of an African American being hired 30 years later? Zero! So how much has really changed for black coaches?

The hire: Dec. 12: (Job search lasts 15 days): Arkansas was determined to hire a proven head football coach and the Razorback Foundation had the money to pay the market rate for such a coach. At a late night press conference, the Razorbacks announced and presented Bobby Petrino to the state. This was barely 24 hours after Petrino had coached a Monday night football game for the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. Petrino had to immediately resign his position with the Falcons to take the job at Arkansas. “It was difficult on one side, very easy on the other, Petrino said. “The timing of it probably is the thing that made it most difficult. Coming to Arkansas was the easy part.” I’m sure one thing that made it even easier was Arkansas’ generosity in terms of opening up its pocketbook. Petrino received a five-year deal worth $2.85 million per year. This type of hire is what the Hog fans were hoping to see. Before joining the Falcons, Petrino had compiled a 41-9 record in four years at Louisville, coaching some of the highest-scoring teams in the country. That success engineered him his five-year NFL contract to tutor and develop quarterback Michael Vick. Petrino never got a chance to coach Vick because of his dog fighting scandal and Atlanta recorded a 3-10 record in Petrino’s first and only Falcons season before the coach decided that pro football was not for him. With three games still left in the regular season, Petrino drafted a letter to the Falcon team following the Monday night game – because the players had Tuesday off – and then got the heck out of dodge. Petrino is an excellent football coach and it will be interesting to see what he does in Fayetteville. One thing for sure: With a $2.8 million dollar annual salary, the Hog fans will not be patient. They will want microwave results.

Colorado State

November 27, 2007: Sonny Lubick and his coaching staff were relieved of their duties. Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk asked the 70-year-old Lubick to step down before Colorado State’s season-ending win over Wyoming. It was hard for Lubick to walk away from his coaches and players. He said that he wouldn’t quit on his team, which finished 3-9, and he wanted a chance to turn it back around. Some of the former players were outraged over the Rams’ decision to make a change. Lubick had established tremendous loyalty over the past 15 years, turning down numerous opportunities to leave for greener pastures. He had compiled a 108-74 record while taking the Rams to nine bowl games and at least a share of conference titles in six seasons.

Estimated chance that Colorado State will hire a minority head coach: 0%. No matter how you try to define him, Coach Lubick was basically a good old boy. There was a reason why he was the right fit in Ft. Collins, which in 2006 was ranked by Money Magazine as the number one best place to live in the United States. According to the US Census Bureau, of the city’s nearly 125,000 residents, fewer than 1,500 are African Americans. With those types of numbers, you can understand why I think there is no chance that an African American will be hired. Theoretically, any school anywhere can hire a minority coach, no matter what the makeup of its fan base. Realistically, for universities like this one, it doesn’t happen. I wonder how many of those 1,500 African Americans support CSU? I should probably give them benefit of the doubt. All 1,500 might be season ticket holders and loyal Colorado State boosters. But even if they were, would those minority boosters have the ability to influence the athletic administration on the hire? You probably think I’m just reaching for reasons why an African-American won’t get the job – but in watching situations just like this one so many times over the years, I have learned not to be optimistic. This is an awful process.

The hire: December 12, 2007 (Job search lasts 15 days). Of course, I don’t know for sure. But I am guessing that there is a 99% chance that the CSU administration didn’t consider the advantages of interviewing several qualified minorities, particularly African Americans, to lead the football program. There were no reports of them doing so. And my hunch is that the demographic makeup of Fort Collins played into it. The Rams decided to hire Steve Fairchild, in his second year as offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. He is a CSU alum who had previously served as an assistant under Lubick. Fairchild was the Rams’ quarterback coach from 1993-96 before taking over as offensive coordinator for four seasons. Colorado State won five conference titles in his eight years as an assistant coach. Obviously, Fairchild was qualified for the position and will fit in well at Colorado State – although in Buffalo, word was that Bills’ fans were fond of neither his offense nor his play calling. But let’s focus on another question, the one I’m trying to address in this book. If Colorado State was looking to hire a qualified offensive coordinator from the NFL, there are several qualified African American coaches who could have been considered. It appears none were. Why not? To be honest, I am tired of trying to explain myself.

Houston

November 28, 2007: Art Briles left his alma mater for greener pastures and accepted the head coaching job at Baylor. Briles reportedly received a seven-year contract and a substantial raise. He can potentially earn up to $1.8 million per season. Briles could be just what Baylor needed. He has extensive recruiting ties in the state of Texas. He previously served as an assistant at Texas Tech as well as the head coach at Stephenville High School, where in 12 seasons he was 139-29-2 and won four Texas state championships. Houston athletic director Dave Maggard said he was launching a national search for Briles’ replacement. Maggard said that he was going to make sure the search was thorough and diverse. “This job has not been promised to anyone,” Maggard said. “This job is absolutely wide open.” I sure want to believe him. But I must admit that I am skeptical, just because of tradition.

Estimated chance that Houston will hire a minority head coach: 55%. If there is any institution that will hire an African American, it will be the University of Houston. The school has an urban campus that could potentially benefit from the hiring of a minority. The demographics of Houston do not at all resemble the demographics of Fort Collins. Houston has 1.9 million residents. More than 464,000 are African American, the largest ethnic group in the city. That community could really step up and embrace a coach of color in huge numbers. During my coaching career when I recruited the Houston area, I discovered that black coaches lead virtually every high school program in the “hood” and white coaches lead the majority of high schools in the suburbs. In my mind, Houston would be a perfect spot for a minority head coach – or in the language administrators use, “a good fit.” Let’s see if Maggard can pull the trigger. If he doesn’t, my bet is that not one African American will be hired during this hurricane season.

The hire: December 14, 2007 (Job search lasts 17 days). I have to be honest. I feel like a genius. Kevin Sumlin, a former Oklahoma Sooners assistant, was introduced as the Cougars’ new football coach at a campus press conference. Sumlin is the first black head coach in the 60-year history of the UH program. According to ESPN.com: “Houston pulled out all of the stops as the 43-year-old Sumlin was introduced. The school band struck up the fight song, cheerleaders danced, and players past and present applauded before Sumlin stepped to a podium.” Maggard declined to say how much the five-year deal was worth for the newly appointed coach. Houston is Sumlin’s first head coaching position after serving as co-offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma offense that was ranked third nationally in scoring with 44 points a game. “I’ve always seen the University of Houston as a gold mine, Sumlin said. “It’s the largest city in a great football-playing state. There is a wealth of talent.” He couldn’t have said it better. The Houston area consistently produces outstanding talent such as Vince Young, Thurman Thomas and Cougars Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware. The downside to this hire is that I am certain no other coaching vacancy will be filled by an African American this year. I would wager on it. I hope Sumlin can be successful. Unfortunately, even in this day and age, many universities need to see more black coaches be successful before taking what those schools perceive as a “risk” by hiring minority coaches. White coaches don’t have that same type of approval mechanism attached to their hire.

UCLA

December 4, 2007: Two days after a loss to cross-town rival Southern California concluded a 6-6 season, the UCLA administration dismissed alum Karl Dorrell. Athletic director Dan Guerrero had hired Dorrell and given him his first head coaching job five years ago. Guerrero credited Dorrell in building a solid foundation for UCLA’s future but ultimately thought that he was not the man to take the program to the next level. “I hired Karl five years ago in the hopes that this program would grow and prosper under his leadership,” Guerrero said at a news conference. “In many ways, it did.” In 2005, Dorrell recorded a 10-2 record and the Bruins were ranked as high as No. 7 in the country. In 2006, the Bruins knocked Southern California out of the national championship game by upsetting the Trojans 13-9. Dorrell’s overall record was 35-27 and as he left stated that the UCLA program is in better shape than it was when he inherited it. He also believes that the program is on the verge of flourishing. “I am proud of what the program accomplished during my five years,” Dorrell said, “especially in the areas of academics, citizenship and recruiting.” I call this termination the “Pete Carroll Syndrome.”Let me give you the definition of that term, knowing what I know about UCLA and the situation there: The “powers that be” have confronted Guerrero and said that five years is a long enough experiment for this young African American that didn’t have any previous head coaching experience. The boosters then suggested that they should be doing what their Trojan neighbors are doing on the collegiate football scene. And to keep up with the Joneses in college football and be like the Joneses of college football, those boosters tend to believe that your head coach needs to look like the Joneses’ head coach.

Estimated chance that UCLA will hire a minority head coach: 0%. Here is a perfect example of race defining space. If Guerrero hired another African American, that coach would probably have to get to the Rose Bowl in 2009 in order for Guerrero to remain as athletic director. Trust my instincts here. You will not see another African American football coach lead this football team in 2008. I know that everyone thinks that DeWayne Walker, the Bruins’ defensive coordinator under Dorrell, is a prospect for the job. Walker deserves to be a candidate. He should be a candidate. But get real. In the minds of the “powers that be,” hiring Walker would be replacing Dorrell with another Dorrell. I want to stress again that black coaches are evaluated collectively; white coaches get the privilege of being of being evaluated individually. The bottom line is that the boosters want someone that looks like Pete Carroll. So I will bet you that the next coach will be able to fit in the Hollywood scene with ease. Although Dorrell was an alum, he was not a white alum. There is a big difference, even in a diverse city like Los Angeles. Remember, Grammy Awards don’t come to blacks easily, even with the music industry centered in Los Angeles. Tupac Shakur never won a Grammy. Neither did Diana Ross, with or without the Supremes. James Brown, the greatest funk and soul singer in history, had 48 songs that hit the top 10 in a career that lasted more than 40 years. But he won only two Grammys over those four decades. So don’t tell me Hollywood is necessarily more welcoming to minorities.
The hire: Dec. 30, 2007 (Job search lasts 26 days). Slick Rick is returning to Los Angeles. No, not Rick James, the funk singer. He’s dead. I am talking about Rick Neuheisel. Yes, he’s a poster board guy that can rival Pete Carroll. Neuheisel has the stereotypical California image and is the perfect fit in the eyes of the “powers that be”. I really don’t think that Guerrero wanted to hire Neuheisel, who has baggage from NCAA violations committed when he was the head coach at Colorado and Washington. But since Dorrell was Guerrero’s last hire, he was working with a handicap during his coaching search. He might not admit that now, but one day after Guerrero either resigns or is fired, just ask him. If Guerrero truly wanted to hire Neuheisel, I don’t think it would have taken nearly a month to find a replacement. Nevertheless, he said Neuheisel’s experience and success as a head coach were the deciding factors. Guerrero said: “In the end it was all about 66 collegiate wins, a percentage that places Rick among the top active coaches in the country. He brings an energy, enthusiasm and a swagger that we needed.” That is the “Pete Carroll Syndrome” to which I was referring. Neuheisel, a Bruin alum, was also supported by his former head coach at UCLA, Terry Donahue. According to Donahue, UCLA made a “great hire.” And Donahue is definitely in the “powers that be” group. Make no mistake. I think Rick will do a great job. I like him. When I coached against him while he was at Washington, I had the most pleasant conversation with him before the game. I just want to emphasize that I am not hating on any coach. I am explaining to you why more black guys do not get hired. It’s all about the flawed process.

Navy

December 8, 2007: After head coach Paul Johnson left to take the same job at Georgia Tech, the Naval Academy had an opening. Johnson had turned Navy into an annual bowl participant. Before his arrival, just winning a few games each season was very difficult. Johnson’s accomplishments at Navy were astounding. It will be interesting to see if he can transfer that success to the tough Atlantic Coast Conference at Georgia Tech.

Estimated chance that Navy will hire a minority head coach: 10%. Our United States Armed Forces have a positive track record of providing advancement opportunities for African Americans. However, I find it very interesting that a black person has a better chance of becoming a four- star general in the military than becoming a head football coach at a division I-A college or university. As affirmative as the academies have been in recruiting minorities, none of them -- Air Force, Army or Navy – has ever hired an African American to lead a football program. Maybe this will be a first. It makes me depressed when I realize that I don’t feel any better about the academies in terms of equal opportunity than I do about nearly every other college or university.

The hire: Dec. 8, 2008 (Job search lasts one day). Navy hired the second minority of the year when athletic director Chet Gladchuk promoted assistant Ken Niumatalolo to the job of head coach. Niumatalolo had been a Navy assistant for 10 seasons, including six as assistant head coach. Gladchuk said his decision was an easy one, explaining: “Fundamentally, at Navy it’s going to be the triple option. It’s an offense that has been really successful for us and given us that edge that dimension. If you look at who’s out there that can run the triple option, I consider Kenny one of the masters.” The 42-year-old Niumatalolo is of Samoan descent. He was born and raised in Hawaii and will go on record as the first Polynesian head coach of a division I-A football program. Niumatalolo understands the significance of that. Addressing the issue, he said: “Hopefully, if I do well it will open doors for some other guys.” I am glad he understands that his success or lack of it will influence employment opportunities for other Samoans. He could have said the politically correct thing that I have heard many black coaches say when they are trying to be perceived as non-threatening. It’s a twist on the same line that Clarence Thomas uses: “Race is not an issue, I want to be evaluated just as a white coach will. One thing for sure, if Niumatalolo finds prospects of his same ethnic background and they can meet the academy’s admission standards, I am certain they will be at Navy. That was evident by a statement made by the team’s junior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, who said: “I think it’s a great move. Personally, I’m happy because we’ve got a coach who really knows the option. We got a curveball thrown at us on Friday, but we woke up {Saturday}and found out we already have a new coach.” I am so happy that Niumatalolo has received this opportunity. He is most deserving. As I always say, even Paul “Bear” Bryant had to be given an opportunity. How do we know if anyone can be the next “Bear” Bryant without giving someone such as Niumatalolo the opportunity to succeed or fail?

West Virginia

December 17, 2007: This must be a shocker for all Mountaineer fans. They had no idea that their head coach, Rick Rodriguez, might be leaving Morgantown. And for Michigan? I think it was the most stunning development in the whole Hurricane season. The whole college world believed that LSU coach Les Miles was a lock to take over the head coaching job at Michigan, his alma mater. But it didn’t happen. The Wolverines also tried to hire Greg Schiano, the head football coach at Rutgers. When neither of those coaches would agree to move, Michigan obviously pulled out all stops to convince Rodriguez to replace Lloyd Carr. Last year it was reported that Alabama and Miami both courted Rodriguez, but he refused strong feelers from both schools to stay at his own alma mater. After that, everybody assumed that Rodriguez would stay at West Virginia until his retirement. Rodriguez did a spectacular job with the Mountaineers. They are currently preparing for their second Bowl Championship Series game in three seasons. West Virginia has always been a respectable program. Don Nehlen, the former West Virginia head coach, enjoyed fine success there. But Rodriguez truly put the program in the national spot light. ESPN reported that the primary reason for Rodriguez leaving the school was his deteriorating relationship with the athletic department. But I am certain it didn’t hurt the fact that Michigan will pay Rodriguez in the range of $2.5 million per year. That is $500,000 more per year than he made at West Virginia.

Estimated chance that West Virginia will hire a minority head coach: 0%. Have you ever been to Morgantown? I have. A mountaineer is an excellent mascot for their institution. I am very sorry that I do not feel that a black coach has a chance to be hired to lead this program. I was actually shocked to find out that African Americans do reside in West Virginia. According to census figures, they make up about 3% of residents in the state. In Morgantown, that figure rises to 4% of the population. What that does mean in terms of the school administration being able to hire an African-American for the school’s most visible job? Hopefully, you are starting to grasp my feelings about all this. My research on this topic has given me some keen insight to these types of situations. Trends in Division I athletic departments suggest that there are few if any significant African American boosters writing “checks of influence” to insure that the hiring process should be open, with all candidates considered regardless of race. You’d like to believe administrators would feel that way, even without any donations from minority boosters. But the blunt truth is, someone has to speak up for a minority candidate for him to become even a blip on the radar screen at a place such as West Virginia. If there is no African-American voice in the room to do so, it rarely happens -- unless you have a Lou Holtz calling and making a recommendation to the athletic director, as he did at Eastern Michigan for Ron Cooper back in 1993. There is power in the recommendation from a respected person such as Holtz. This was evident when the University of Louisville hired Ron Cooper from Eastern Michigan even when he did not possess a winning record. But with Holtz’s blessing, Cooper was still hired. But you know what’s funny? Even if President Bush called the governor of West Virginia to recommend an African American candidate for the Mountaineer head coaching vacancy, I’m not sure it would help his chances to be hired.

The hire: January 4, 2008 (Job search lasts 18 days). As I say, I am well aware that race matters. Nevertheless, anyone with a heart and soul should have been happy for longtime West Virginia assistant Bill Stewart, who had been named the team’s interim head coach but was promoted to the head coaching position after leading the Mountaineers to a dominating performance over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. I was certainly happy for him. As desperately as I want African American coaches to have the same opportunities as their white coaching peers, I was elated to learn that Stewart would replace Rodriguez. He is a West Virginia native and at age 55, is your classic coaching “lifer.” He had been West Virginia’s associate head coach when Rodriguez resigned. He definitely has the “fit” of a Mountaineer. At his introductory press conference, Stewart said: “I’m West Virginia born, West Virginia bred, A West Virginian all my life, really. I don’t have a lot of experience in these negotiations and things. That’s my agent right down there.” Then he pointed at his wife. The lesson to me: More minority coaches need to be in associate head coach or coordinator jobs so that they can be in position to take advantage of a situation the way Stewart did. Right now, many African-American coaches with that sort of talent will jump quickly to the NFL because they perceive the opportunities there are better – not to mention the pay. A position coach in the NFL often pays more than a coordinator position in college. We need to figure out how to keep more African-American coaching talent at the assistants’ level in college. Then, one day, the Bill Stewarts of the football world will not all be white guys.

Hawaii

January 7, 2008: June Jones left his role on Hawaii Five-O to take over the Southern Methodist University Mustangs in the fertile recruiting grounds of the Dallas-Forth Worth area. Jones didn’t leave Honolulu without recommending several replacements, including some of his assistant coaches. Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan, who led the Warriors to a 12-0 before losing to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl said: “No matter what Coach Jones ever did or no matter how much he won, he wasn’t going to have the right money or facilities here. I’m sad to see him go but after just having experienced the Sugar Bowl. I understand how this is a business.” Brennan is not returning to Hawaii next season but is still concerned for the institution. “I hope it doesn’t hurt our program,” he said of his coach’s departure, and suggested that administrators interview Norm Chow, the former USC offensive coordinator who is now working for the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. He is of Asian heritage, as are many people in the Hawaiian Islands. Chow also believes in high-powered offense. Said Brennan: “I think Coach Chow would be a great fit for Hawaii just like Coach Jones was.”

Estimated chance that Hawaii will hire a minority head coach: 0%. Herman Frazier, one of the few African American athletic directors at a predominantly white institution, was fired by Hawaii one day after Jones accepted the job at SMU. Frazier had led the department for over five years. The school released a statement saying the termination of Frazier was in “the best interest of the athletics program”. So Hawaii is looking for both an athletic director and a head football coach. I haven’t done much studying on athletic directors but it is safe to assume that Frazier will not be replaced by another African American and that zero chance exists for an African American to be hired to lead the football program. However, I think the possibility exists that Hawaii will consider hiring a minority if it would the right fit. I really like Brennan’s suggestion; I think Norm Chow would be a perfect fit. Hawaii is a melting pot made of people of all races and backgrounds. Asians are the majority of the people living on the island making up 46% of population. Whites are 21% of the population and African Americans make up 2%. There are significant challenges at Hawaii. The Warriors have always played well on the island but seem to never play well off the island. But the 2007 was a special one for the program, with the team recording an undefeated season and receiving a BCS invitation. The expectations have been raised by Jones. Now, the Hawaii fans expect to win big every year. Jones is a tough act to follow. I wish his successor luck, whoever it turns out to be..

The hire: January 16, 2008. (Job search lasts nine days). Hawaii decided to keep Jones’ assistant, Greg McMackin on the island and hired him to lead the Warriors football program. McMackin served as the defensive coordinator when the Hawaii won WAC Conference championships in 1999 and 2007. McMackin said: “I am honored and very humbled to accept the head coaching position at the University of Hawaii.” This hire doesn’t surprise me. There is no record of any minority candidates being interviewed. But hiring McMackin is a safe move and he is deserving of the opportunity. He obviously understands the university’s culture and knows his way around the island. I am sure the administration thought it would be best to try and keep a good thing going because McMackin was familiar with the way Jones had done things to become successful. It will be interesting to watch the outcome.

Other Hurricane Season Observations

Here are some other interesting hiring facts that I observed and jotted down in my journal following the 2007 football hiring season:

"Boosteritus"

A web site and newspaper reported that a University of Washington class of ’66 law school graduate pledged $200,000 to the school if it would fire both athletic director Todd Turner and football coach Ty Willingham. The Huskies recorded four wins and seven losses during the 2007 football season. It was Willingham’s third straight losing season.

Washington president Mark Emmert received an email from Ed Hansen, a lawyer and developer who obviously wants to be the owner of the athletic department.
In Hansen’s first email to the president, he mentioned his part in an upcoming fundraiser for the university and his disappointment in the state of the football program. ESPN.com reported that Hansen’s email said he had “decided to defer establishing a law school scholarship until Ty Willingham is replaced as Husky football coach.

There is more.

Hansen wrote in another email to Emmert: “By this letter I hereby pledge to contribute a minimum of $100,000 towards a law school scholarship within 90 days, conditioned upon the termination of Ty Willingham as football coach. In addition, I hereby pledge a second $100,000 towards a law school scholarship within 90 days, conditioned upon the termination of Todd Turner as athletic director. Also, I do not intend to contribute any further funds to the athletic department as long as these two gentlemen are employed by the University.”

College football is infected by "boosteritus." I hope we can learn an effective way to treat the disease that allows boosters to buy influence and coaches. This hurts the process. But this situation explains exactly why UCLA athletic director, Dam Guerrero could not pull the trigger and promote DeWayne Walker to head coach. The historic record shows that the tenures of black coaches are shorter than white coaches with similar records, which indicates to me that black coaches have less time to prove themselves. When a white athletic director hires a black football coach that is not successful and keeps him around too long, the athletic director realizes that if he doesn’t replace the coach, the athletic director will also be replaced. Kevin White of Notre Dame realized that. I think this is why, under heavy pressure from big-money boosters, he decided Coach Willingham would have to leave before White, himself received the ax. This is defined as self-preservation.

Succession Plans

There is an interesting thing happening in college football. At the conclusion of the 2007 season, three universities named their head football coaches in waiting. Kentucky named offensive coordinator Joker Phillips, an African American, as the school’s heir apparent to Rich Brooks. Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher has been selected to replace Bobby Bowden at Florida State when Bowden decide he has had enough. Purdue just hired Eastern Kentucky coach Danny Hope to be an apprentice and eventually replace Joe Tiller.

If African American coaches can benefit from this process, that’s fine. Phillips certainly has done so. But I am really uneasy about the fairness of succession plans. I understand that colleges and universities are trying to pre-empt other job offers for their coordinators to retain quality coaches. That is good for continuity purposes and should be good for prospective student-athletes. But I am not certain it is the best thing for the profession. As ESPN national columnist Pat Forde noted in a column, change can be a good thing. Forde writes: “Job searches that expand beyond the usual suspects with ties to a school or a beloved coach can be beneficial. (See Pete Carroll at USC, Urban Meyer at Florida, and so forth.)”

If Joker Phillips hangs around until Rich Brooks retires, he will become the second black head football coach in the history of Southeastern Conference. But what if Brooks doesn’t decide to walk away on his own in a few years? Will the administration push him into early retirement to hold onto to Phillips. This will be interesting to watch.

Job Search Timeline As you can see above, many schools with coaching vacancies really rushed to fill them. This has always been a concern of mine because it isn’t a fair process for
prospective candidates of any color. The average amount of time a job stayed open during this “hurricane season” was 17.3 days. But that was skewed by the 69 days it took SMU to find its new coach. Eliminating that figure, the average search took only 14 days. Sometimes, that’s long enough for a good and fair process. But would a university picking a new president do so in just two weeks? How about just two days? That’s how long it took Texas A&M to conduct its “search” for a new head coach. By comparison, Ole Miss dawdled in its search for an entire four days. Nebraska took only eight days.

For other prominent positions on a college campus, the hiring process is followed that usually includes a public job posting and then a series of interviews with some sort of hiring committee. It usually takes a month or longer. I understand that football is different. But does it have to be that different? How many terrific candidates who have genuine interest in a certain coaching position have been denied even a chance to interview for it?

The irony is, in this particular hurricane season, the rush to hire actually benefited a minority candidate, Ken Niumatalolo of Navy. So I won’t be a hypocrite and say that was necessarily a wonderful thing. I am confident that if the Navy coaching search had been more open and methodical and patient, Niumatalolo would have still emerged as the best candidate, given his long history at the school. And I am almost sure that Niumatalolo would have embraced that search method. As I will explain in a later chapter, there is a much better way of doing business.