A 10-Year Snapshot of NFL Coaching Hires
What can we say about the NFL’s hiring of head coaches of color?
The push for greater representation of head coaches of color within the NFL has been well documented, especially since adoption of the Rooney Rule1 in 2003. The Global Sport Education and Research Lab, with the help of the Paul Robeson Center at the University of Central Florida, sought to answer this question.
1The Rooney Rule requires teams hiring a head coach to interview at least 1 person of color.
NFL New-Hire Head Coaches by Former Position
Experience is known to be important in hiring, so we gathered data on prior head coaching experience. This figure displays the position the head coaches held just before being hired as head coach. “Other” reflects head coaches who came from other positions, such as special teams, linebackers, or quarterbacks coaches.
Our data supports prior research that found NFL offensive coordinator is the most frequent former position of hired head coaches, followed in order by NFL defensive coordinator, NFL head coach (of other clubs), college head coach, and other positions. Since 2009, nearly 40% of head coaches hired left offensive coordinator positions. Another 29% of the head coaches hired left head coaching positions.
Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of NFL New-Hire Head Coaches by Former Position
There is a discrepancy between numbers of white head coaches and head coaches of color, and offensive coordinator is the most common path to head coach. In the decade we covered, 91% of offensive coordinator hires were white. These tables dig deeper to look at the position held just prior to being hired as head coach for white coaches and for coaches of color, between the 2009 and 2018 seasons.
*Percentages have been rounded and may not equal 100
Head coaches of color were most commonly NFL defensive coordinators (6), followed by offensive coordinators (4), head coach of another club (1), and linebacker coach (1). White head coaches were most often offensive coordinators (19), followed by NFL head coaches at other clubs (13), defensive coordinators (9), and college head coaches (3).
Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of NFL New-Hire Head Coaches by Playing Experience
Playing experience is another relevant factor in hiring head coaches. Below, we show the previous football playing experience of NFL head coaches. All head coaches of color had previous playing experience at the college or professional level, and 54% played in the NFL or in some other professional league. Among white head coaches, 91% played at the college or professional level, and 32% played in the NFL or in some other professional league.
NFL New-Hire Head Coaches by Hiring Age
Newly hired head coaches of color were older on average (51.4 vs. 48.4), and the majority of head coaches under 40 were former offensive coordinators and white.
Head coach positions on average had a narrow hiring age range, typically between 40-59 years of age. Newly hired white head coaches were found on both ends of the age curve; Bruce Arians was hired as the Cardinals head coach at age 61 and Sean McVay at 31 was tapped by the Los Angeles Rams.
Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of NFL New-Hire Head Coaches
The figure below displays new head coaches hired each year, broken down by percentage and race or ethnicity. White head coaches range from 57% to 100% of new hires in any given year, and coaches of color ranged from 0% to 43%, with the highest percentage year including the only Latino coach hired during our ten-year window.
Historical Record of Diversity in Head Coach Hiring by NFL Clubs
The chart below shows each NFL club’s record of hiring head coaches of color within their franchise history in the modern NFL era. Oakland and Tampa Bay have each hired three head coaches of color. No club in the NFL has hired consecutive head coaches of color, and 12 (37.5%) of the clubs have not hired a permanent head coach of color (Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Dallas, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles Rams, New England, New Orleans, New York Giants, Tennessee, and Washington). From the 2009 to 2018 seasons four of those 12 clubs have had one head coach tenured at least nine seasons, which reduces the likelihood of new hires of any race or ethnicity.
Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of NFL Offensive Coordinators – 2009-10 vs. 2018-19
We also examined the pipeline feeding head coaching positions. Most often, the previous position of a newly-hired head coach is NFL offensive coordinator, followed by defensive coordinator. The figures below show all the NFL offensive coordinators broken down by race and ethnicity in both percentage and total number in the 2009-10 and 2018-19 seasons. In the 2009 season there were three offensive coordinators of color (all African American) and 29 white offensive coordinators. At the start of the 2018 season, there was one offensive coordinator of color (African American) and there were 31 white offensive coordinators.
NFL Offensive Coordinators by Race/Ethnicity, 2009
NFL Offensive Coordinators by Race/Ethnicity, 2018
Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of NFL Defensive Coordinators – 2009-10 vs. 2018-19
These figures show NFL defensive coordinators broken down by race and ethnicity in both percentage and total number. Compared to 2009, there are three more coaches of color in defensive coordinator positions in 2018.
NFL Defensive Coordinators by Race/Ethnicity, 2009
NFL Defensive Coordinators by Race/Ethnicity, 2018
Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of NFL New-Hire Offensive and Defensive Coordinators
These figures reflect the newly hired offensive coordinators per season broken down by race and ethnicity. For each season with coaching changes, the percentages reflect the number who were white and who were coaches of color. At least 77% of offensive coordinators hired each season were white.
In comparison, coaches of color have had more opportunities as defensive coordinators and the new hire gap between white defensive coordinators and defensive coordinators of color is far less. Coaches of color have been hired for 40% or more of the defensive coordinator opportunities in five of the ten years that we have studied.
Racial/Ethnic Breakdown of NFL New-Hire Offensive and Defensive Coordinators by Age
The figures shown below illustrate the average age of new hires at offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator positions. Overall, offensive coordinators of color and white offensive coordinators are hired at approximately the same average age. Defensive coordinators are hired at older ages on average than head coaches and offensive coordinators.
*Numbers are rounded
Changes in NFL Offensive Coordinators and Defensive Coordinators of Color
Since the start of the 2009-10 season, there have been 13 coaches of color who left offensive coordinator positions and ten coaches of color hired as offensive coordinators. This figure represents the offensive coordinators of color each year. The blue represents the number of offensive coordinators of color who left that year. The orange is the number of hired offensive coordinators of color that year.
The defensive side shows a different trend: 34 coaches of color have left defensive coordinator positions, and 37 new defensive coordinators of color have been hired since the start of the 2009-10 season. The chart below displays the changes in defensive coordinators of color each year. The blue represents the number of defensive coordinators of color who left that year. The orange represents the number of hired defensive coordinators of color that year.
Next Positions for Outgoing NFL Head Coaches
The next coaching positions for outgoing head coaches of color were less varied compared to outgoing white head coaches. Outgoing head coaches of color most often became NFL defensive coordinators (36%). Outgoing white head coaches most often became NFL defensive coordinators (22%), NFL offensive coordinators (21%), or head coaches of other NFL clubs (14%). Exiting white head coaches were hired for other NFL head coaching positions at twice the rate of coaches of color (14.3% vs. 7.1%). They also went on to offensive coordinator positions in the NFL at nearly three times the rate of coaches of color (20.6% vs. 7.1%). In the last ten years, one outgoing head coach of color has been hired immediately to another head coaching position, compared to nine white head coaches. Also, we acknowledge that some coaches enter or reenter broadcasting careers.
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This study was conducted by the Global Sport Education and Research Lab and the Paul Robeson Research Center for Innovative Academic & Athletic Prowess at UCF. The Global Sport Education and Research Lab is an initiative of the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University.
About Global Sport Institute
The Global Sport Institute is where diverse disciplines converge to thoughtfully examine critical issues impacting sport, and how sport impacts others. As a cross-disciplinary enterprise, the institute’s efforts are integrated throughout the entire university — from engineering to sociology, to the athletic department and beyond — rather than within a single concentration. With an emphasis on expanding research, sharing knowledge, supporting innovation and advancing education, the institute’s mission is to use sport to create positive change throughout the world.
About Paul Robeson Research Center for Innovative Academic & Athletic Prowess
Established in 1998 by C. Keith Harrison, Ed.D., the Paul Robeson Research Center for Innovative Academic & Athletic Prowess at UCF provides students with research opportunities to cultivate a better understanding of diversity and inclusion in sports. The center’s mission is to bridge the gap between academic and athletic identities. By empowering students to build research theory, create empirical data sets and contribute to high-quality publications, the Paul Robeson Research Center for Innovative Academic & Athletic Prowess at UCF prepares students to be practitioners in their desired career fields.
The number of head coaches of color has gone up and down over the years since the Rooney Rule was implemented in 2003. In the last decade, 14 coaches of color were fired from head coaching positions, and 12 were hired. In the 2009-10 season there were five African American head coaches in the NFL. In the 2018-19 season there were eight coaches of color, seven African American and one Latino. However, these numbers do not tell the full story.
Overall, head coaches of color are hired at older ages, have more significant and relevant playing experience, and do not receive equivalent “second chances”—when African American head coaches have been fired in the NFL, it has been more difficult for them, as compared to white and Latino American head coaches, to obtain another head coaching position at the same level.
PRRC, under the direction of Dr. C. Keith Harrison, compiled data from all changes at head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator levels in the NFL. The data includes information on the race/ethnicity of both hired and fired coaches, prior coaching position, and next coaching position (in the case of the coach leaving the position).