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NFL 2026 NFL Free Agency While NFL owners play a large role, coaches can also do more to help diversify the coaching ranks. Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images They’d really rather not talk about it. But every winter, the elephant that is the NFL’s problem with diversity lumbers back into the room. With the Super Bowl more than a month removed, and the NFL focus now on draft evaluations and free agency, another hiring cycle has come to a close. Every head-coaching vacancy has been filled, and each staff completed. Advertisement For coaches of color, this cycle felt like another gut punch. None of the 10 head-coach openings went to a Black man, and people of color didn’t fare much better in their pursuit of the 21 offensive coordinator jobs (the position commonly viewed as the pathway to head coach). And in another blow to diversity, the NFL informed teams recently that the Accelerator — the program originally intended to help connect aspiring head coaches and general managers of color with NFL owners to facilitate an improved path to promotion — is no longer diversity-focused. The league has shifted into reverse. NFL owners generally draw criticism for the ongoing problem with diversity, and rightfully so. They have long been guilty of lazy hiring practices. They pluck from the Good Ol’ Boys Club, hiring the buddies of buddies and copy-catting while pursuing coaches who fit a certain look. In the process, they pass over many highly qualified football minds and strong leaders of diverse heritage and, at times, with superior credentials. But the NFL’s hiring problem actually runs far deeper. It’s becoming increasingly evident that fixing it will require shifts in thought and approach — not only by the owners, but also by current head coaches and even the assistants of color who crave the advancement they fully deserve. Tired of the topic? You’re not alone. People of color wish they didn’t have to think about the NFL’s discriminatory hiring practices either. The Black and Brown coaches, who work in a league where nearly 70 percent of the players are men of color, wish merit-based advancement didn’t remain so elusive. This is not a reality they enjoy living. “It’s really frustrating for us Black coaches, ” lamented one offensive assistant from an AFC team — speaking anonymously because he hadn’t received permission from his team to discuss the matter publicly. “Every year, you’re definitely watching and seeing what’s going on — who’s coming and going, who the jobs are going to, and who they’re not going to. It’s hard out here for brothers right now. ” Advertisement Said an NFC assistant coach, also on the offensive side of the ball and speaking on condition of anonymity, “Obviously, being a person of color, you know it’s going to be harder. You have goals to one day be a coordinator and a head coach, but don’t know if it’ll actually happen because of the way things are. But you try not to let it discourage you. ” A third — recently let go as part of a coaching staff change — surmised, however, that after this winter, morale among assistants of color has never been lower. Even current Black head coaches hesitate to touch this long-running topic. “I don’t think I’m the one (to ask), ” Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles — one of the NFL’s three Black head coaches — responded at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I get that question every year, and I think when you guys start answering that question, we’ll start getting some results. We can stand up here and talk all we want, but we’re coaches, who happen to be Black. We’re all American. So, you guys can answer that question. It’s frustrating to see, but at the same time, you guys can turn over a lot of stones when you want the story but leave that one alone. ” New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn took as safe a stance as possible, saying, “I do understand the fact that every team operates a little differently, and they’re going to pick the guy that actually fits what they want to do, and I think that’s how you make decisions for the most part. That’s how I picked the coaching staff. That’s how we pick players. … But I do know there are a number of African American coaches that deserve to be head coaches, and I’m sure they get their just due. ” Deflection is common when it comes to this topic. For years now, NFL owners have blamed the lack of diversity in the head-coaching ranks on the pipeline. They declare that there aren’t enough quality offensive coaches of color to consider to lead teams in this pass-happy league. As if the ranks haven’t long featured dozens of talented Black coaches directing offensive lines, running backs and wide receivers while boasting a sophisticated understanding of offensive concepts and rock-solid leadership skills — the main trait that determines success for head coaches. Advertisement However, many owners and team presidents subscribe to the foolish notion that only offensive coaches who work directly with quarterbacks or call offensive plays are worthy of head-coaching consideration. NFL officials worked to eliminate that excuse by expanding the Rooney Rule to require teams to interview two external diverse candidates for each coordinator vacancy. They hoped such a requirement would open decision-makers’ eyes to the talent available and lead to an increase in Black offensive coordinators and quarterbacks coaches, and eventually, Black head coaches. Four years after the rule’s expansion, progress has proved minimal. Only three teams employ offensive coordinators of color: the Kansas City Chiefs’ Eric Bieniemy and two biracial coordinators, Mike Mc Daniel of the Los Angeles Chargers and Nate Scheelhaase of the Los Angeles Rams. All three landed those jobs this offseason. Only Mc Daniel and Scheelhaase interviewed for head coach positions this winter. And only Mc Daniel will call plays for his team, prompting many high-ranking NFL figures to view the others as coordinators in name only. Coaches of color can deliver truly elite-level results and still get passed over by peers with lesser bodies of work. Just ask Tee Martin and Ronald Curry — the Black (now former) quarterback coaches responsible for tutoring league MVPs Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, respectively. Neither received serious consideration for offensive coordinator jobs. Martin became a free agent when the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh. Now Martin is out of the league after taking an offensive analyst job with Lane Kiffin at LSU. A coaching change also ended Curry’s time with the Buffalo Bills. He interviewed for the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator job that everyone knew was going to Davis Webb and then eventually agreed to coach the Broncos’ wide receivers. Martin’s and Curry’s job changes left the NFL with four teams that have Black quarterback coaches (Washington, Baltimore, Chicago and New England). Three teams (New England, Baltimore and Detroit) employ Black pass game coordinators (fancy name for assistant to the offensive coordinator). But it’s not enough for teams to simply employ. Strengthening the pipeline involves much more, and this is where head coaches come into the equation. Advertisement In his response to the question about the plight of coaches of color, Bowles missed the mark. No, he can’t hire head coaches, but he and others in his position can help position lower-ranking members of his profession for undeniable resumes and worthy advancement. Perhaps Bowles forgot the example that his predecessor Bruce Arians set as he took intentional approaches to both ensuring that he had a coaching staff with rich diversity, and developing assistant coaches into quality coordinators and future head-coaching candidates. During his time in Tampa, Arians was the only coach with three Black coordinators — Byron Leftwich (offense), Bowles (defense) and Keith Armstrong (special teams). He became the first to add women — Jen Welter in Arizona, then Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar in Tampa — to his coaching staff. Also during that time, Arians met former Duke quarterback turned NFL practice squad journeyman Thad Lewis at a coaching clinic for former players, found himself impressed and added him to Tampa’s staff as a coaching intern. Lewis eventually served as Tampa’s quarterbacks coach for three seasons until Bowles opted for a change this offseason. “I was always proud that we were the only team with three Black coordinators and with women on our staff, ” Arians recalled in a recent phone interview. “Some of it just happened because of who my guys were and some of it was intentional. … But it really is challenging for Black coaches and I don’t get it. Maybe six, seven years ago, we started to really have a nice pipeline of quarterback coaches, offensive coordinators that you thought could fill some head-coaching roles, because right now, it’s an offensive cycle. … But that pipeline right now, is just not happening. ” Regardless of the racial background of his assistants, a head coach should naturally rank mentorship high among his priorities. It benefits the team in the short term and rewards assistants (regardless of race) in the long run. “I just feel like as a head coach, that’s what you should do, and it doesn’t matter if they’re Black or White, ” retired Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy said in a recent phone interview. “If you find good people or young guys, you should want to develop them and see them grow. That’s what I tried to do, whether it was Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin, Jim Caldwell, Rod Marinelli, Mike Shula. I did it because that’s what (Dennis) Green did for me and other guys. “I was his defensive coordinator, but Denny definitely wanted me to understand the ins and outs to prepare me to be a head coach, ” Dungy continued. “He took me in and allowed me to be in meetings I really didn’t need to be in or wasn’t qualified to be in to see the inner workings. Various scouting meetings, he would talk to me about every aspect, even what he was thinking on offense. And he took the same approach with Brian Billick and Tyrone Willingham and others. ” Advertisement Dungy and Billick both went on to become Super Bowl-winning head coaches (Dungy being the first Black head coach in NFL history to hoist a Lombardi Trophy), but that never would have happened without Green’s intentional approach to mentorship. The best current-day king-maker head coach is probably Sean Mc Vay, who has seen seven of his leading assistants — Matt La Fleur, Zac Taylor, Kevin O’Connell, Raheem Morris, Brandon Staley, Liam Coen and Mike La Fleur — become head coaches. Mc Vay may serve as his own play caller, but he works to groom assistants by entrusting them with various responsibilities that fall on a head coach’s plate and involving them in decision-making processes. Mc Vay has begun turning over play calling and head-coaching duties to top assistants during preseason games in an effort to prepare them for the day they make that jump. Mc Vay credits Mike Shanahan for helping develop him from an entry-level offensive assistant in Washington into a tight ends coach who helped with third-down package planning, priming him for the day where Mc Vay became Jay Gruden’s offensive coordinator in Washington and eventually head coach in L. A. Now, it’s a point of pride for Mc Vay to play a role in helping assistants grow and secure head-coaching jobs. Some coaches are guilty of wanting to hide talent to ensure that they don’t lose trusted assistants and set their franchise back. However, Mc Vay is proof that with a proactive development and talent-acquisition approach to his coaching staff, a head coach can ensure that his team rarely misses a beat despite semi-annual turnover among his top lieutenants. Such an approach also helps Mc Vay attract high-caliber assistants, because they’re aware that he can help place them on the path to success. More head coaches should take such a proactive approach in developing and publicly highlighting assistants — regardless of racial background. And if they truly care about equality across the NFL, they will intertwine the mission of developing coaches with their convictions on diversity. The lack of advancement on both the offensive coordinator and head coach ranks has left many Black coaches feeling both frustrated and helpless. But perhaps they aren’t quite as powerless as they believe. They obviously can’t hire themselves, but some can better position themselves for growth. Advertisement Many professions operate in accordance with the “It’s not what you know, but who you know” adage, but none as strongly as NFL coaching. Many coaches — Black or White — get their first break because of a pre-existing relationship. It’s not uncommon for an assistant to follow the head coach for whom he works from one job to another. Such a coach often hopes that his loyalty will eventually earn him elevation through the ranks. He keeps his head down and he grinds, waiting for his shot. However, doing so often translates into a stagnant career, small network and limited options when that coach gets fired. In a league dubbed “Not For Long, ” a backup plan is always wise. Networking is hard for NFL assistants. Outside of the Senior Bowl and combine, there are no events that lend themselves to connecting with head coaches on other teams, and some organizations are moving away from sending their full coaching staffs to those two offseason events. However, two wise assistant coaches fortunate enough to work their way around the league under multiple head coaches from vastly different trees let us in on a secret. Every game day represents an opportunity to meet opposing head coaches, general managers and, sometimes, even owners. Both of these well-traveled assistants (both Black) said they make it their mission to introduce themselves to high-ranking members of the opposing team before the start of pregame warmups, when head coaches, GMs and owners are simply taking in the scene and connecting with colleagues. The interactions may consist of only a couple of minutes of communication at a time, but eventually, familiarity grows. Wider networks translate into more opportunities, more options, better leverage and improved growth potential. Will such efforts be enough to trigger breakthroughs necessary to help these aspiring coaches achieve their ultimate goals? Not entirely. The upward climb still requires the willingness of a mentorship-minded coach, and then, owners and team presidents who are sincerely receptive to considering candidates of diverse backgrounds. But such acts of initiative can help assistants — already at a disadvantage because of their lack of Good Ol’ Boys Club memberships — stiff-arm their way closer toward their goals. For years, we’ve blamed owners for the NFL’s lack of Black and Brown head coaches, and their racial biases do factor greatly into the lack of progress on this front. But it’s a far more complex problem, one that no commissioner-ordained policy or match-making program can truly solve. NFL teams will not become true equal-opportunity employers until all parties involved — owners, team presidents/general managers, head coaches who claim to care about diversity, and the assistants of color desperate for advancement — embrace a genuine, intentional and more proactive approach. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Mike Jones joined The Athletic as a national NFL writer in 2022 after five years at USA Today, where he covered the NFL, and eight years at The Washington Post, where he covered the Washington Commanders. He previously covered the Washington Wizards for The Washington Times. Mike is a native of Warrenton, Va.