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Diversity has long been an issue among NFL head coaches as the vast majority of them are often white. Currently, just five head coaches entering the 2022 NFL season are in the minority, while the other 27 are white. Despite the league's efforts to increase this number over the last 20 years, they appear to have ultimately failed.
The Rooney Rule was implemented in 2003, requiring all teams to interview a minority head coaching candidate for vacant positions. The season prior to the Rooney Rule, there were two black head coaches in the NFL and since then the number has fluctuated between three and six each season. While the number has slightly increased, the goal of the rule has not been reached.
The issue that many head coaching candidates have is that currently around 70 percent of NFL players are black, yet their head coaches are almost always white. This has convinced several current and former coaches to claim systemic racism throughout the league. Here are five of them.
#5 - Brian Flores
Brian Flores made headlines during the 2022 NFL offseason when he was shockingly fired by the Miami Dolphins. He helped the team achieve two consecutive winning seasons while keeping them way ahead of schedule for their full rebuild. They appeared to be heading in the right direction, but Flores was suddenly released.
Flores claims racism is a major factor in why he was let go from his position. He was later interviewed for the New York Giants head coaching job. However, Flores claimed he was told they were already hiring someone else prior to his interview. Flores filed a lawsuit against the league as well as three teams for alleged systemic racism.
#4 - Ray Horton
Ray Horton has served as a defensive coach for seven different teams across 25 years. This includes becoming the defensive coordinator for five of them. After serving as the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans for two years, he became a candidate for their head coaching vacancy in 2016.
Horton claimed his interview for the position never stood a legitimate chance and that the Titans were just satisfying the requirements of the Rooney Rule. He recently signed on with Flores as part of his lawsuit against the NFL.
#3 - Steve Wilks
Steve Wilks spent 11 years as a defensive backs coach with three different teams. He also served as an assistant head coach for three years with the Carolina Panthers, as well as being their defensive coordinator for one season. His extensive experience led to him being hired by the Arizona Cardinals to take over as their head coach for the 2018 NFL season.
After just one season in his new position, the Cardinals fired Wilks and hired Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury was a mediocre head coach in college football with zero NFL experience. Wilks felt he was treated unfairly due to racism. He recently signed on with Brian Flores in his racism lawsuit against the NFL.
#2 - Hue Jackson
Hue Jackson is considered one of the worst head coaches in NFL history for his massive failures with the Cleveland Browns. He recorded a combined 1-31 record across two years, including an 0-16 season. When Flores' lawsuit came up earlier this year, Jackson claimed he had plenty to add to it.
Jackson claims that the Browns offered him a cash reward for intentionally losing games, something Flores claims the Dolphins offered him as well. Jackson has stated that he believes he was treated unfairly because of racism within the Browns organization.
#1 - Anthony Lynn
Anthony Lynn spent three years as a special teams assistant before a stretch of 13 consecutive seasons as a running backs coach with six different teams. He also spent four years as an assistant head coach and one as an interim head coach. He demonstrated that he was well-deserving of a head coaching job.
Lynn finally landed one with the Los Angeles Chargers prior to the start of the 2017 season. He claims he declined multiple head coaching interviews over the course of his career because he didn't want to just help the team obey the Rooney Rule. Lynn has said in the past that he would only accept an interview if the organization had already interviewed another black candidate before him.
