HOUSTON — The NFL neared the end of its 2022 head-coaching cycle Monday when the New Orleans Saints filled their vacancy with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Out of eight jobs filled around the league, two are minority candidates with Lovie Smith’s employment with the Houston Texans the lone Black hire.
The only team that has yet to fill its head-coach vacancy is the Minnesota Vikings — who will likely hire Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell following the conclusion of Super Bowl LVI on Sunday.
The lack of diversity amongst Black coaches in the NFL is a massive issue plaguing the league in light of Brian Flores’ lawsuit. And in addition to helping the Texans win more football games in 2022, Smith’s goal is to provide more opportunities to black individuals as the head coach in Houston.
“It’s not just about talk,” Smith said during his introductory press conference Tuesday morning. “When you look at my staff, that’s what I believe in. And then, letting those guys show you exactly who they are. That’s how we can increase it.”
By becoming the fifth head coach in franchise history, Smith isn’t oblivious to the significance of his hiring with the Texans.
If the Vikings do not change courses to pursue a minority candidate, not only will Smith be the only African American nominee employed to a vacant NFL head coaching job in 2022. But the 63-year-old Texas native will be the first Black coach to be hired on three different occasions — with a legendary stop with the Chicago Bears and a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“People in positions of authority throughout — head coaches, general managers — you got to be deliberate in trying to get more black athletes in quality control positions,” he said. “If you can get that, then they can move up. That’s one way to get more [black head coaches].”
“I realized there is a lack of black coaches in the NFL. There’s Mike Tomlin, and then there’s me. There is a problem. There is always talk about what you should do, but it always comes down to action.”
Smith’s two-decade career coaching in the NFL began in 1997 when he served as the linebackers coach for the Buccaneers.
Similar to the desire Smith has to ameliorate the lack of diversity today, it was Tony Dungy who gave him his first coaching opportunity in the NFL. Dungy, who defeated his prodigy in Super Bowl XLI, was one of three African American coaches at the time of Smith’s first hire in ’97.
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