Magicgames II » Where have all the black coaches g

one?To the unemployment line Youth T. J. Logan Jersey , at least in the NFL. Five of the eight coaches fired over — and since — the last season were black, and so far none of them has been rehired as head coaches in the league.That leaves two African-American coaches still standing among 32 NFL teams. And in a league where more than two thirds of players are black that’s not nearly enough.The news Wednesday that the Denver Broncos were hiring Vic Fangio as head coach and the New York Jets were going with Adam Gase as their new coach means six of the eight teams looking for new coaches have found their man.And so far none of the new hires have been minorities.That’s not a new problem in the NFL, of course. It’s also one the league has addressed with the Rooney Rule that ensures minority candidates are interviewed for any head coaching openings and other front office positions.The rule was a step forward, and for a long time it seemed to be working. To make sure, the NFL just last month announced changes to strengthen it.The changes were hailed as a breakthrough at the time by former Giants linebacker Harry Carson, executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which promotes diversity in NFL coaching and executive ranks. They came after a season in which seven coaches were replaced — and only one of the replacements was black.“After last season’s hiring cycle, something had to be done,” Carson said. “These enhancements should strengthen the rule and ensure that it applies as intended and truly gives candidates of color a fair chance.”So far, not so good. Teams may be interviewing minority candidates but, lately at least, they’re not hiring them.And if last year was a step back from true diversity, this year has started off even worse.Of the last 13 coaching hires in the NFL over two seasons, the only minority hire has been Steve Wilks — and he was fired by the Arizona Cardinals after just one year. The only two black coaches left in the NFL — which at its peak in 2011 had eight coaches of color — are Anthony Lynn of the Chargers and Mike Tomlin of the Steelers.“I liked it better when there was eight and not just two,” said Richard Lapchick, director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. “But I do think there is a cyclical nature to this and that may be part of it.”Lapchick, who authors annual reports on the level of diversity in all the major professional leagues, said the NFL experienced a similar dip in the hiring of black coaches after the 2011 season into 2014. Then the hiring picked up again to the point in the last two years when there were eight coaches of color — including Panthers coach Ron Rivera, who is Hispanic.He’s hoping that this dip may also be short-lived, while others believe promising black coaches may get more opportunities if the Rooney Rule was expanded to include coordinator positions Stitched Chad Williams Jersey , too.“Am I concerned there are (two) coaches of color?” Lapchick asked. “Of course, and if I hadn’t just gone through it in my head looking at 2011 and the three years after that I would have been deeply discouraged by what I saw at the end of this season.”Just why the number of minorities is down depends on who you’re talking to, though it’s certainly not for a lack of qualified candidates. There are black coaches on the staffs of almost every NFL team that potentially could run teams just as well as any of the coaches hired so far this postseasonIt doesn’t help that a few of the more recent hires are head scratching choices, at least to those outside the organizations.Arizona reached into the college ranks to tab Kliff Kingsbury, as its new head coach. That by itself was unusual since Kingsbury had a losing record at Texas Tech and has never coached in the NFL.And Tampa Bay hired former Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, who is coming out of a one-year retirement at the age of 66 to take the Bucs job.Ultimately, of course, teams are free to hire the person they believe will lead them to the Super Bowl. And, remember, it wasn’t until 1989 when the Raiders hired Art Shell that the NFL had a black coach at all.Still, one black coach of the last 13 is a troubling trend in a league dominated by black players. Cyclical or not, that’s not the number envisioned by the NFL when the Rooney Rule was put in 16 years ago.Diversity is one of the NFL’s strengths, and one of the big reasons it is the most popular sport in America.Right now, there’s not nearly enough of it at the head coach level. The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a unique position with regard to the 2019 NFL Draft. They own the number one pick in each of the first six rounds—-and if they are smart they will take advantage of bonanza trade offers in Rounds 1, 2 and 4.Fist of all—-let’s get one thing out of the way.This year is a rebuild—-not a retooling.Can everyone on planet earth now admit this?The Cardinals made the mistake of trying to do both last season and, as the Las Vegas odds makers predicted, the Cardinals were the worst team in the NFL.The Cardinals made the bold move of hiring an offensive innovator and QB jockey in Kliff Kingsbury. To be fair—-installing an innovative offense and grooming a young QB are going to take some time and patience.Now—-what Cardinals’ GM Steve Keim needs to do is take a fresh clean slate approach to the table—-which means letting go and making up for past mistakes.Keim drafted the team’s QBOF in last year’s draft. Keim likes Josh Rosen’s chances under Kingsbury’s leadership and guidance. The only reason to stay in the #1 spot in the draft would be to take franchise QB. Even though I and a small cadre of others have tried to make a case for Kyler Murray (because of his natural fit in an Air Raid offense)—-all indications thus far are that Rosen is and remains the chosen one.Another reason to stay at #1 would be if there was clearly a player there who is, without a doubt, head and shoulders above all the rest.Draft pundits have been feeling for quite some time that Ohio St.’s DE Nick Bosa fits that bill.But—-Bosa is still rehabbing from his bilateral abdominal surgery—-and his brother, Joey. has been injury prone—-he’s missed 15 games in 3 years. With the Cardinals switching back to a 34 base—-where does Nick Bosa fit? When the Chargers drafted Joey Bosa they were a 34 base defense and they played Bosa at LDE and then moved him to the edge on passing downs.Is that what the Cardinals would have in mind for Nick Bosa?If that’s the case—-it would be yet another situation of the Cardinals asking their 1st round draft pick to play a position that he is unfamiliar with. Plus Youth Chad Williams Jersey , Nick Bosa weighs in the 265 range, which is a little light for 34 DEs.Notice too that after Joey Bosa’s first year with the Chargers, they switched their base to the 43 in part so that Bosa could play 43 DE, his most natural position.With the switch back to the 34, the Cardinals finally have the chance to get things right with 2017 1st round pick LB Haason Reddick. Reddick, whose Combine numbers compared to Von Miller’s, thrived on the edge at Temple—-and with the former Broncos’ head coach, Vance Josepth, now the Cardinals’ DC, it is quite possible that Joseph can help develop Reddick as a dynamic 34 OLB and nickel edge rusher.Furthermore, thanks to some nifty acquisitions made by Steve Keim last year, the Cardinals are unusually deep on edge players—-as behind Chandler Jones and Haason Reddick they have Zach Moore, Vontarious Dora and Cameron Malveaux, each of whom flashed pass rushing ability this past season.Perhaps the Cardinals could add one more in house edge player to that depth if they can agree to terms with Markus Golden or Benson Mayowa. However, the key to the Cardinals’ entire off-season may very well hinge on what they decide to do with oft-injured LT D.J. Humphries. Steve Keim had already picked up Humphries’ 5th year option, but Keim can opt out before March, which would make Humphries an unrestricted free agent.The bottom line is Humphries has started a mere 27 games in 4 years—-the past 2 years he has missed 18 games due to injuries. In 9 games this past season, Humphries earned a respectable 68.8 PFF grade, which ranked him as the #40 tackle—-but that doesn’t take into account 7 missed games due to injury, nor the fact that being the #40 rated tackle doesn’t even place him in the top 32—-which for a 1st round draft pick in his 4th year Stitched Pat Tillman Jersey , is unsatisfactory. The combination of these deterrents would make Steve Keim’s decision to pick up Humphries’ 5th year option at $9.6M a desperate attempt to get value out of a former 1st round pick who has consistently underachieved.The clear answer—-as it seems at least to me—-is to use the $9.6M saved by letting Humphries become a free agent on one of the top guards in free agency, such as the Rams’ Rodger Saffold or the Colts’ Mark Glowinski—-and then—-trade down from #1 to add another 2nd round pick (and possibly much more)—-to then select a LT who played well in Mike Leach’s Air Raid at Washington St. and who stood out this past week at the Senior Bowl.If the Cardinals draft LT Andre Dillard, they have their starting LT for the next 5 years, the duration of Kilff Kingsbury’s contract.Finally the Cardinals would be drafting a 1st rounder who will play the exact same position he played in college.And they would be rebuilding their new offense around players who fit the system.Plus—-this is the kind of draft, depth-wise, where the Cardinals can stockpile talented players who are superb fits in the Air Raid offense and the 34 defense.I think the Cardinals could trade down in Rounds 1, 2 and 4 if they get superb offers.What this also would enable the Cardinals to do, with so many draft picks, is avoid spending excess money on fringe level UFAs. For example, with Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk returning as starting WRs...and with some good potential WR talent already on board with Chad Williams, Trent Sherfield, Pharoh Cooper and Jalen Tolliver...instead of pouring money into a very average group of veteran free agents...the Cardinals should be able to dedicate two of their top 4-5 picks on WRs who can be hand picked by Kliff Kingsbury.The key holes the Cardinals need to fill in free agency are at G, DT, ILB, CB. Getting stronger up the middle and on both lines is of paramount importance. And—-finally getting a competent CB opposite Patrick Peterson is of paramount importance.At RT, Keim has recently stated that he would like to re-sign Joe Barksdale (respectable 2018 PFF grade of 62.5) and continue to groom 2nd year talent Korey Cunningham as the potential long-term starter. Plus, the Cardinals should re-sign T/G John Wetzel as a RFA. Therefore, using Humphries’ $9.6M to upgrade the guard position and then drafting the ideal LT for the Air Raid offense in Andre Dillard would seem to be a major step in the right direction. With the #1 pick in the draft the Cardinals may be able to trade down twice to add a pair of 2nd rounders to go with their own—-and still be able to draft LT Andre Dillard.