Cris Collinsworth Says Black College Coaches Would Seal The Deal

The Inside the NFL team has entered the discussion about the dearth of black head coaches in NCAA Division 1-A (also known as the football bowl subdivision).

On last night's show, Cris Collinsworth said that it should be a no-brainer. Why? He felt, that with the majority of Division 1-A players being black, a black head coach would have a much easier time in "sealing the recruiting deal."

But would it really? And are colleges doing enough to build a pipeline of viable candidates of all racial and ethnic backgrounds for head coaching vacancies?

Over on Eye on Sports Media, I posted this chart that shows the number of minority head coaches for each of the twelve Southeastern Conference teams:

SEC East Assistant Coaches
	White	%age	Minority	%age	Totals
Florida	6	66.67%	3	33.33%	9
Georgia	5	55.56%	4	44.44%	9
Tennessee	6	66.67%	3	33.33%	9
South Carolina	5	71.43%	2	28.57%	7
Vanderbilt	6	66.67%	3	33.33%	9
Kentucky	5	55.56%	4	44.44%	9
Totals	33	63.46%	19	36.54%	52
SEC West Assistant Coaches
	White	%age	Minority	%age	Totals
Alabama	7	77.78%	2	22.22%	9
Auburn	5	62.50%	3	37.50%	8
Arkansas	6	66.67%	3	33.33%	9
LSU	6	66.67%	3	33.33%	9
Ole Miss	4	44.44%	5	55.56%	9
Mississippi State	4	44.44%	5	55.56%	9
Totals	32	63.38%	21	39.62%	53
SEC Overall Assistant Coaches
	White	%age	Minority	%age	Totals
	65	61.90%	40	38.10%	105

Also on last night's show, James Brown said that statistics don't lie, and it was flat out wrong that only three black head coaches remain in the NCAA Division 1-A ranks. However, if that is the case, these numbers look pretty good on their face, with the exception that there seems to be a preponderance of schools that have a ratio of six white: three minority.

But which coach, on the face of these statistics, has done the best job of providing opportunities for minorities? It was not just Sylvester Croom, but also Houston Nutt at Ole Miss. Can you think of any other state in this country where race relations have been as historically deplorable? Yet, these schools lead the SEC in coaching diversity.

The Inside the NFL team was very good on the hyperbole last night, without offering up any solutions to increase the diversity in the pipeline. That is where the solution to the problem lies, not in playing a game by interviewing candidates who do not really have a chance because the schools already know who they want in the job.

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About the Author

Christopher Byrne is the publisher of "Eye on Sports Media", an on-line publication focusing on the sports media industry. He is also a sports contributor on Newsvine, and a Guest Editor with NowPublic.