Entering the 2026 NFL season, only three teams are currently led by a Black head coach: DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans), Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and Aaron Glenn (New York Jets). In college football, the numbers are similarly low: 13 of 136 programs have a Black head coach, down from 17 in 2011.
Marshall Faulk doesn’t believe this is just an unfortunate coincidence.
Marshall Faulk Points to ‘Comfort Hiring’ Culture as Black Coaches Struggle for Top Jobs
The Pro Football Hall of Famer, who is now the head coach at Southern University, didn’t hold back when discussing how race impacts coaching and front-office searches.
“You can be JJ Redick and never have coaching experience and get the Lakers job. But can Marshall Faulk get the Rams job? Hell no. It is what it is,” Faulk stated.
“There’s a level of comfort, but we, if this is the route we have to go to show like Coach Prime (Deion Sanders) did, that hey, I can lead an organization, I can do what I need to do, and I’ll do that. It’s no different than a lot of other coaches that went this route.”
Redick went from podcast host to NBA head coach almost overnight. He did not have to climb a ladder. Nobody asked him to spend years as a video coordinator or assistant coach first. His playing career and broadcasting experience were enough to get him in the door.
Faulk then rattled off a list of other names to make his point. He mentioned that Matt Ryan was handed a president of football role with the Atlanta Falcons with zero front-office experience. He noted that Josh McCown was in the mix for the Houston Texans’ head coaching job several years ago despite being a journeyman QB who had no coaching experience.
“I’m just gonna say what it is. Matt Ryan can be a (president of football). Why do other players kind of go through and jump through the hoops to be a GM?” Faulk asked. “What’s the quarterback (coach) that’s now in Minnesota? (McCown) was in Houston. They were about to give him the (head coaching) job (in Houston)… He barely played. Played a few games in the league. But it happens.
“We don’t have the opportunity of (coach Mike LaFleur) who just got the Cardinals head coaching job who I barely knew was with the Rams, you know?” Faulk said. “That’s a hell of an opportunity. And I’m gonna say Coach (Sean) McVay, he’s done a really good job of getting guys ready to get jobs.”
He then questioned why the Falcons would fire Raheem Morris, who went 8-9, to hire Kevin Stefanski, who went 5-12 with the Cleveland Browns the year before.
“It’s just weird that the Atlanta Falcons would fire a guy (Morris) who had a better record than the guy that they hired (Stefanski),” Faulk said.
Faulk believes that football players have a particularly hard time transitioning to coaching roles once they finish playing.
“Football’s the only sport that players struggle to come off the field and become a coach,” Faulk said. “They look at us like if you’re successful at the game playing, then you won’t be successful at the game in any other capacity.”
As mentioned earlier, the numbers back up Faulk. The Big Ten and SEC combined have just one Black head coach between them (Maryland’s Mike Locksley).
Meanwhile, Black players make up roughly half of all FBS rosters. Unfortunately, the same diversity cannot be seen in the coaching pool.
