Two Black head coaches, James Franklin (Penn State) and Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), are set to make history in the College Football Playoff. Their semifinal matchup guarantees the first Black coach will compete for a CFP championship.
James Franklin of Penn State and Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame have already made history as the first Black head coaches to lead teams to the College Football Playoff. Both are 2-0 in the 12-team tournament and face each other in a semifinal Thursday night in the Fiesta Bowl. That means one of the two is certain to become the first Black coach to play for a CFP championship. The overwhelming feeling around college football is that it's about time.
Franklin, who has been the Penn State coach for 11 seasons after three at Vanderbilt, compared the opportunity to the first Super Bowl featuring Black head coaches, Super Bowl XLI between Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears in 2007. 'I remember thinking that, as a coach, how significant that was in the profession, and how significant that was for young coaches coming up in the profession, to see those guys in that role,' Franklin said at the Fiesta Bowl news conference. 'I also remember, at that time, there were a lot of conversations about, 'Will this impact the profession? Will this impact opportunities for guys?' It might have, but not to the extent some hoped. The number of Black head coaches at the FBS level has grown from six in 2007 to 16 now, still low considering nearly 50% of FBS players are Black. 'I know some people will say, 'Well, that that's not a huge increase,' but it is an increase,' Franklin said. 'At the end of the day, does this create opportunities for more guys to get in front of athletic directors? Does this create opportunities for search firms? I hope so.' Black head coaches have been hired in the NFL at about the same rate as the college rank
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