The 2011 Coaching Carousel: Head Coaches

[Stealthbirds80]

In my opinion. the Rooney rule places attention on something that shouldn't be an issue, but has been made one for some god awful reason. It is as narrow to me as Black history month or B E T (black entertainment television). If you think I'm racist, please look at my avatar (it's me).

On topic, did the Raiders fire cable yet or is there still speculation? Anybody hear the offensive coordinator talk on sportstalk today about the Ravens. I heard Drew on 1570 touching on it on my drive to work, but that station cuts out when I get to Owings Mills (weak broadcasting signal). Any thoughts on getting Al Saunders promoted? I hear that he is an Air Coryell student? Personally, I think that this team is built to throw with what we have and at least this year should not run to setup the pass, but vice versa. We would need to fix the O line, but a shot gun/no huddle offense could light it up.

[NC Raven]

Amazed Marvin still has a HC job. It's not just the lack of winning anything, though in most places, 8 years and, if I'm reading it right, an 0-2 playoff record... NO playoff wins in 8 years?!?!? Can that really be true???

Throw on perhaps the most undisciplined team this side of Dallas -- one of the worst in terms of character -- arrests galore, etc.

So not only does he not put a quality team together on the field, they're also an embarassment off the field as well.

So basically he's failed in every way there is to fail as a HC.

But that's fine with me. I like to see our division opponents keepin' it mediocre. :D

[myfavoriteboxer]

As shocking as it sounds, maybe the black HC's in the league were hired based on merit and not color?

Yes, of course. That is why the rule aims to increase access to the interview process rather than a skin color quota.

In fact, just today, the results of a recent study were released that says just the opposite -- that the Rooney Rule has done very little:

That study says the NFL should focus "on recruiting African-Americans into entry-level position coaches." I agree, that is a great place to focus. Do we all agree on that?

One major problem is that that the institutionalized racism in the NCAA ranks is much worse. (And at certain schools, outright racism, as in, alums who apparently would be really upset to see a non-white face on the sideline, even as they've gotten over watching non-whites on the field.) So the lack of the diversity in the college coaching pool hurts the diversity of the pro coaching ranks.

Hate to be the one to break this one to you, but this entire message board is filled with threads based on things that have no affect on me or you.

Yes, it's just interesting to see a good-faith attempt at correcting an imbalance, which in a narrow way affects the hiring process for only 32 job openings, elicit such strong condemnation on philosophical principles. We don't see similar discussions on other subjects on this board, I don't think. Well, I guess we do with the CBA discussions, too. But that more directly affects us, the fans, because it affects things like ticket prices and whether we'll even have football to watch next year. As a fan of a team all I care about is that my team hires the best possible coach. The Rooney Rule doesn't hinder them from doing that in any way that I can see.

Well qualified black candidates have to be interviewed knowing full well they won't be hired all for the sake of owners avoiding a fine.

I don't see why if in practice, a few owners have followed the letter of a rule in bad faith rather than its spirit, that is a condemnation of the rule itself. If you work your ass off to find a loophole to a rule, that should say more about you than it does about the rule, no?

[RavenScallywag]

Amazed Marvin still has a HC job. It's not just the lack of winning anything, though in most places, 8 years and, if I'm reading it right, an 0-2 playoff record... NO playoff wins in 8 years?!?!? Can that really be true???

It seems to be the MO of Mike Brown. He's not out to build a championship franchise. He's out to make sure the team makes him money. Marvin Lewis probably won't be able to build a year to year competitive team, given the limitations put on him by the owner, who is also the GM. But, he's cheap, and he's still a big enough name to keep (some) fans coming. And really, other than hiring Zimmer, did you see ANY big names going there to make s splash? Not likely. So he gets Marvin on the cheap, and Marvin gets to retain a HC title, which he wouldn't have gotten anywhere else. The interesting thing to see now if how they proceed with assistant coaches and free agents. TO is certainly gone, I have to think Ocho is gone. Benson and JonJoseph probably stay. Palmer is a coin flip, I'd bet Marvin keeps him around.

As far as keeping them mediocre, that may be true, but the Bengals under Marvin Lewis don't seem to play mediocre against us.

[trailhiker85]

On topic, did the Raiders fire cable yet or is there still speculation? Anybody hear the offensive coordinator talk on sportstalk today about the Ravens. I heard Drew on 1570 touching on it on my drive to work, but that station cuts out when I get to Owings Mills (weak broadcasting signal). Any thoughts on getting Al Saunders promoted? I hear that he is an Air Coryell student? Personally, I think that this team is built to throw with what we have and at least this year should not run to setup the pass, but vice versa. We would need to fix the O line, but a shot gun/no huddle offense could light it up.

It's now been reported officially that the Raiders will NOT pick up Cable's option, which amounts to the same thing as Al Davis firing him. The team is denying reports that Hue Jackson will be promoted to the HC position, which makes me think Hue WILL get the job. Some Oakland players, including Shane Lechler, are reportedly pissed about the latest move. That's not because of anything against Jackson (I'm sure they like Hue), but rather because they perceive Al Davis' musical coaches game as hurting team continuity.