As another round of college football coach hirings "comes to a close, it is apparent that minority coaches, particularly African-Americans, remain underrepresented in head coaching positions in the top tier," according to Marc Tracy of the N.Y. TIMES. Though some vacancies remain, there are "only 13 minority head coaches -- 11 of them black -- among the 128 teams" in FBS. As recently as '11, there were "17 black coaches, and 19 minorities over all." Despite "good intentions and even proactive steps ... the dearth of black head coaches in 2015 in a sport in which the majority of players are black has left many observers angry and exasperated." The percentage of black head coaches in college football (less than 9%) is "even lower than the NFL's rate" of 16% (five of 32). Among the 65 programs in the Power 5, "seven employ black head coaches." Former Florida AD Bill Carr said that there "remained a certain closed-mindedness among many athletic directors who looked to hire only candidates with experience as a head coach or as an offensive or defensive coordinator." But Tracy notes the "biggest hurdle might be that, as in many industries, those making hires in college football often draw from their existing peer groups." NFL Jets WR coach Karl Dorrell said, “There is networking involved in this profession, and being involved or part of a network with some very influential people or coaches that know some other influential people or coaches that can make those leadership or management decisions, that’s tremendously helpful.” Vanderbilt AD David Williams, one of eight black ADs in the Power 5, said, “Is it a function of who sits in the AD chair? Because that’s small. Is it the presidents? That’s even smaller.” NCAA Chief Inclusion Officer and Exec VP/Membership & Student-Athlete Affairs Bernard Franklin said, “We know a tremendous part of the hiring process is predicated on relationships. Certainly we can’t make or force anyone, but we can increase awareness" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/15).
