The plight of minorities to become NFL head coaches is
receiving national attention from writers covering the Super
Bowl in San Diego. In Denver, Mark Kiszla: "The prejudice
inherent in the sport's good-old-boy network is as plain as
black and white" (DENVER POST, 1/21). Also in Denver, Bob
Kravitz: "Ten years ago, right here in San Diego, the big
story was the presence of Washington's Doug Williams, the
first black quarterback to lead his team to the Super Bowl.
Ten years later, the NFL has an increasing number of black
quarterbacks but remains disturbingly homogenous on the
sidelines and in the executive' boxes" (RMN, 1/21). Packers
Offensive Coordinator Sherman Lewis was asked about the
NFL's hiring practices yesterday during media day. He
mentioned reports that 32-year-old Eagles Offensive
Coordinator Jon Gruden is to be named head coach of the
Raiders: "To say Jon Gruden is more qualified than me to be
a coach in the NFL is as ridiculous as saying I'm more
qualified than Bill Clinton to be the president. ... Eleven
NFL jobs opened last year, maybe one (black) guy got
interviewed. Four more opened this year, maybe one more
African-American even got interviewed." Gruden was once an
offensive assistant under Lewis (DENVER POST, 1/21). More
from Lewis: "I have thoughts about it. But now is not the
right time and place" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 1/21).
FREE FOR ALL: ESPN's John Clayton: "Thanks to a new
strange ruling by the Players' Association, the Pro Bowl
will become headquarters to legal piracy each year. Tired
of agents complaining about other agents stealing their
clients, the NFLPA declared that players in the final 60
days of their contract are free game to agents trying to
steal them. That means that unsigned Pro Bowl backs such as
[the Packers'] Dorsey Levens may have to save his best
running for getting through the Pro Bowl hotel lobby without
receiving an agent's business card" ("SportsCenter," 1/20).
