Tyrone Willingham: All Words, No Action

Within the last week the Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) released its report grading the institutions which make up the NCAA. Once again, the overall numbers are poor, and with the termination of Coach Ron Prince at Kansas State University and Coach Tyrone Willingham at The University of Washington at season’s end, the number will be 4; before any coaching vacancies have been filled.  

Willingham has been outspoken on this topic. As one of the few African American head coach’s in the NCAA and as the current President of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), he has a right to be. He is in the position to lead and has a platform as President of the AFCA in which he can deliver a message.

This summer, in an interview as President of the AFCA, Willingham said, “the numbers are the numbers, they don’t lie,” when asked about the number of African-American head coaches in Div. I NCAA football.

In a recent article by the associated press, Willingham, before his Huskies, the only winless major college team, practiced for Saturday night's game against UCLA, stated in light of the recent BCA Report Card on minority hiring practices:

"Obviously, it should be a great concern to all of us because there's a pool of resources in our country that's not being tapped. We've battled this for some time. At no time has that number been where it should be. In my estimation, that hurts all of us."

The 54-year-old coach was elected president of the American Football Coaches Association last winter and still has a few months left on his one-year term. Willingham has said he hasn't ruled out coaching somewhere next season, and he wants to make it easier for him and others to get hired.

Willingham wants to at least increase the odds of hiring by expanding the minority pool. He said the AFCA is looking at a plan that would seek compliance from university presidents, athletic directors, prominent boosters and others most influential in a school's big-business football program. That ambitious goal is why something like a "Rooney Rule" won't become reality in college football for at least a few years, he said.

Coach Willingham is interested in “expanding the minority pool”. One can debate the logistical applicability of a “Rooney Rule” in the Div. 1 football, with different conferences, and each school governed independently, it is not one body, like the NFL.  What one cannot debate is that increasing the profile of qualified African American assistant coaches so that they are head coaching candidates would be a good thing. 

Most first time head coaches are hired either hired within the program or are hired from an offensive or defensive coordinator position, it is, after all, the most logical stepping stone to a position as a head coach. 

Ask Coach Lane Kiffin, who was the offensive coordinator at USC before becoming a first time head coach for the Oakland Raiders. Ask Coach Brad Childress who was a long time offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles before becoming the Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings.  Ask Coach Romeo Crennel who was a defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots before becoming the Head Coach for the Cleveland Browns. Ask Coach Ron Prince who was an offensive coordinator with The University of Virginia before becoming the Head Coach for Kansas State University.

Hiring a qualified African American coach to a coordinator position is would be a huge stepping stone for first time head coaches. For current minority head coaches would be a great way to improve the profile of qualified minority candidates.  With that said it is interesting that in 14 years as a Head Football Coach in Div 1 NCAA football, Coach Willingham not hired one African American coordinator; not one.  Hardly the logical actions of a man who states his intention is to, “expand the minority pool”.

He has been in an unbelievably rare position in the last 14 years as a minority head coach and has not once groomed a minority coaching candidate by hiring them as a coordinator. 

Coach Dana Bible, Coach Bill Diedrick Jr. and Coach Tim Lappano, all white coaches, have been his offensive coordinators.

Coach Bill Harris, Coach Kent Baer and Coach Ed Donatell, all white coaches, have been his defensive coordinators.

In the last year Coach Willingham fired and replaced Coach Kent Baer with Coach Ed Donatell, replacing a white coach with a white coach. According to some, Coach Willingham did offer Coach DeWayne Walker, defensive coordinator at UCLA the defensive coordinator position. However, according to Coach Willingham, an interview is different than actually hiring someone.

If one would take a brief look at the staff of the 6 African American head coaches, there are 10 official coordinator positions, (as according to the official Miss St. website, Coach Croom does not have official coordinators) only two are African American They both work with Head Coach Tuner Gill at the University of Buffalo, who was hired within the staff from the offensive coordinator position.

When you analyze the racial makeup of the staff of the six coaches, only 33% are African American 25 of 75. 

Buffalo                           50%  of staff are African American

Houston                         33%

Kansas State                  24%

Miami                            50%

Mississippi St.                 41%

Washington                    18%

Coach Willingham’s University of Washington Football Staff employed only two African American coaches of the nine (18 percent) assistant on staff going into the season. Coach, “The numbers are the numbers, they don’t lie”, these are not the actions of a man who says he wants to do his part to “expand the minority pool”.

This does not take away from the low numbers in the rest of the NCAA, but a leadership by example approach, especially from a man who has said so much, done so little and is in such a position would not hurt.

After all, actions speak louder than words.

Excerpts from AP writer, Gregory Bell’s November 14, 2008 article were used in this report.