Like hundreds of other assistant football coaches, Purdue defensive ends coach Gary Emanuel wants to run his own show someday.
But before Emanuel can be a head coach, he may have to be an offensive or defensive coordinator. Trouble is, he’s black, and in Division I-A football, few blacks get a shot at coordinating jobs, let alone head coaching positions.
The 42-year-old from Connecticut is wondering whether the only way to move up is to move on to the NFL, where he has served internships with four teams. The NFL has far fewer coaching slots than Division I-A, but there is a perception among black coaches that it is more welcoming.
“I think I’ve kind of maxed out at what I can do at the college level,” Emanuel said. “I guess at some point just about every black coach has to make that decision.”
As Emanuel spoke on a hot afternoon this month, he watched the weary Boilermakers trudge off a practice field near Ross-Ade Stadium. That night Emanuel participated in long meetings after dinner, then took an early wakeup call for practice the next morning, then helped conduct another practice in the afternoon. This is Emanuel’s 21st preseason camp. Don’t tell him about paying dues.
“I love to coach,” Emanuel said. “I love the kids. But you look around and you ask, `Where’s the opportunity?'”
Turn the question around: Where are the black candidates?
The problem is the pipeline.
There isn’t one.
The “system,” as Emanuel calls it, has failed to produce a steady flow of minority head coaching candidates. Blacks face a Catch 22: athletic directors want head coaches with coordinating or head-coaching experience, but fewer blacks than whites have that on their resumes.
The system kicks into gear every December and January, when athletic directors, nearly all of them white, race to fill head coaching jobs. Under pressure from fans and the media to make quick hires, the ADs tend to turn to people they know–and those people are usually white. More deliberate searches may turn up qualified minorities, but in the competitive world of Division I-A, athletic directors rarely have the luxury of time.
At the end of last season, 25 Division I-A head coaching jobs turned over. One went to a black coach: San Jose State hired Fitz Hill.
As Hill was signed, two black head coaches, Jim Caldwell of Wake Forest and Bob Simmons of Oklahoma State, were let go. As a new college football season kicks off, there are five black head coaches on 116 Division I-A campuses, or 4.3 percent.
Taken in the context of major college and professional sports, the number is very low. Ten percent of NFL head coaches are black, as are 20 percent of major-league baseball managers and 34 percent of NBA head coaches, according to the 2001 Racial and Gender Report Card issued by Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society.
About half of I-A scholarship football players are black.
“It’s frightening how far [college] football has not come,” said Richard Lapchick, who directed the study.
“What we’re talking about in football is something that has become almost a cultural phenomenon,” said Lapchick, also the DeVos Eminent Scholar and Sports Business Management Program Director at the University of Central Florida. “It is so white and has remained so white for so long, my fear is that, as time goes on, African-Americans lose interest and don’t even think about that [as a career option].”
Indeed, assistant coaches say few of their black players talk about going into coaching. At Michigan State, head coach Bobby Williams said only 1 of 21 Spartan seniors has expressed interest in pursuing a career in the field–though some are curious to know how Williams, who is a black, got his job. Williams had been at MSU for 10 years but wasn’t a coordinator when he was promoted after Nick Saban left for Louisiana State.
“I think a lot of young players are looking at the situation as, `Hey, is coaching something I want to do?'” Williams said recently. “I’ve had a lot of players ask me how I got involved.”
Some black athletes may be discouraged by the lack of opportunity at the top of the field. Others may find better job prospects away from football.
“What happens is you get bright young African-Americans who have done extremely well in school and they’re very talented, and there are a lot of people coming after them and there’s a lot of money that’s being offered,” Penn State receivers coach Kenny Carter said. “In this profession, regardless of what your race or sex is, the big money is not going to be there initially. So there’s a tremendous hole that has come up [in the pipeline].”
Emanuel said he has approached several black players about becoming graduate assistants. It’s a lowly job, with horrible hours and worse pay, but it’s often the first step toward becoming a Division I-A coach.
“They say, `Why should I, coach? I won’t be a coordinator,'” Emanuel said. “Kids are smart. They see what’s going on.”
But even being a coordinator isn’t a sure ticket to a head coaching job for a minority. Consider Michigan assistant head coach Fred Jackson. He has served as offensive coordinator at Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin and Toledo but never has moved past the interview stage for head coaching jobs.
Last winter, many black coaches shook their heads in disbelief when Arizona passed over its own black offensive coordinator, Dino Babers, and hired 57-year-old John Mackovic. Mackovic had spent the last three years as a television analyst after Texas fired him.
Babers, whose 1999 offense set a Pac-10 record for yards in a season, took a job as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M. Babers is 39 and some may have raised questions about his age. Of course, rival Arizona State hired 41-year-old Dirk Koetter, a white head coach from Boise State, two days before Arizona signed Mackovic.
“You see guys who are just getting recycled,” one black assistant said. “We aren’t getting the first shot and a lot of other guys are getting second and third shots.”
College football lags far behind pro sports in minority hiring, but it has come a long way since the day when many staffs had only one black assistant–a hire who often was used to recruit inner-city players. According to the 2001 Racial and Gender Report Card, the percentage of black assistants in Division I-A has grown slightly in the last five years, to 20.4 percent from 18 percent in 1996. The report card does not break down coordinator jobs by race, but a Sport in Society official said it may do so in future surveys.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno said the racial makeup of his staff was a factor when he filled two of his three vacancies with minorities last winter.
“Our squad now is probably 50-50 [black and white],” Paterno said. “Regardless of how we want to talk around it and be politically correct and all that kind of nonsense, I think it’s important that you have some role models on your staff for kids to look up to and communicate with.”
In the Big Ten, 31 of 99 football assistants (31.3 percent) are black. But only 2 of 22 coordinators (9 percent) are black.
If coordinators help make up the pool of future head coaches, that’s a bleak predictor.
“You have guys being named `assistant head coach,'” Emanuel said. “It’s not the same as being a coordinator. Everybody knows that’s a meaningless title. There’s usually no responsibility. At least if you’re a coordinator, people know you’ve had real responsibility.”
Carter, 33, has sought to increase his responsibilities with every career move–and he has had several. He started at The Citadel, his alma mater, in 1994, and coached defensive ends and running backs and coordinated recruiting. He moved on to LSU for a year, then to Pitt for a year before moving to Penn State.
Carter may have landed in the right place: two former Paterno assistants, Caldwell and Ron Dickerson, were among the handful of black Division I-A head coaches in the 1990s. But while Carter is confident that he one day may be a head coach, he understands the pessimism that afflicts many black assistants.
“Everybody talks about, you have to work this progression of doing this and doing that, being a coordinator here, having head coaching experience there–well, there are not a lot of black assistants in college football who have coordinator jobs,” Carter said. “You could have nine million black assistants who are ready and have the ability to do the job. But the people in the position to make the hire–are they ready for that?”
Purdue wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore often has asked himself that question. At 34, he’s on his fourth job, which is typical in the field. Like Carter, he’s scaling the ladder, but sometimes he wonders whether he’ll run out of rungs before he reaches his goal–the helm of a Division I-A program.
“Obviously, I watch, I learn, I listen,” Gilmore said. “I think a large part of it is out of your control. Athletic directors hire people they know, just like coaches do for their staff. If there’s going to be a change, it has to come from there.
“I have to believe that my generation will be the one that breaks through. A lot of times it’s a situation of, what are they looking for? I honestly don’t know what you do to change it. If we know the rules, we can play the game.”
Big Ten black assistant football coaches
There are 99 full-time assistant coaching positions in the Big Ten, 31 of which are held by blacks. Of the 22 offensive and defensive coordinator jobs in the Big Ten, two are held by blacks.
Key: Year–at the school; Exp–overall experience in college unless noted
ILLINOIS POSITION YR. EXP.
Robert Jackson Wide receivers/recruiting coordinator 3rd 16th year
Osia Lewis Linebackers 5th 11th year
Donnie Thompson Defensive line 1st 21st year
INDIANA
James Bell Defensive coordinator/DBs 2nd 18th year
Ron Burton Linebackers 5th 8th year
Gerald Carr QBs/passing game coordinator 1st 15th year-x
Diron Reynolds Defensive tackles 1st 3rd year
Anthony Thompson Assistant head coach/running backs 5th 5th year
IOWA
Ron Aiken Defensive line 3rd 13th year
Carl Jackson Running backs 16th 19th year-y
MICHIGAN
Teryl Austin Defensive backs 3rd 9th year
Erik Campbell Wide receivers 7th 13th year
Fred Jackson Assistant head coach/running backs 10th 23rd year
MICHIGAN STATE
Troy Douglas Defensive secondary 1st 13th year
Reggie Mitchell Assistant head coach 3rd 17th year
Don Treadwell Wide receivers 2nd 18th year
MINNESOTA
Tom Sims Defensive line 1st 5th year
David Turner Defensive ends 1st 12th year
Richard Wilson Wide receivers 1st 15th year
NORTHWESTERN
Jay Peterson Linebackers 3rd 11th year
Howard Feggins Wide receivers 3rd 7th year
Jerry Brown Defensive coordinator 8th 19th year-x
OHIO STATE
Tim Spencer Running backs 8th 8th year
Mel Tucker Defensive backs 1st 4th year
PENN STATE
Kenny Carter Wide receivers 1st 9th year
Larry Johnson Defensive line sixth 6th year
Brian Norwood Safeties 1st 10th year
PURDUE
Gary Emanuel Defensive ends 5th 21st year
Ted Gilmore Wide receivers 1st 5th year
WISCONSIN
Henry Mason Wide receivers 7th 11th year
Darrell Wilson Special teams/outside linebackers 2nd 6th year
x–4 years in NFL; y–5 years in NFL
%%
%%
Source: Tribune research. Experience is assistant or head coaching jobs. Graduate assistant positions are not included.
Division I-A football coaches
Overall head coaches: 116. Black head coaches: 5. Percentage: 4.3. By comparison, 10 percent of NFL head coaches, 20 percent of major-league baseball managers and 34 percent of NBA head coaches are black.
Black assistant football coaches in Division I-A: 1995-96: 18 percent. 1997-98: 20.5 percent. 1999-00: 20.4 percent.
Source: 2001 Racial and Gender Report Card published by Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society.
All-Americans
Tribune college football reporter Andrew Bagnato’s preseason All-American team.
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK
Chris Simms, Texas
RUNNING BACKS
Damien Anderson, Northwestern
Ken Simonton, Oregon State
TIGHT END
Jeremy Shockey, Miami
LINEMEN
Jon Stinchcomb, Georgia
Chris Gibson, Oregon State
Fred Weary, Tennessee
Martin Bibla, Miami
Bryant McKinnie, Miami
WIDE RECEIVERS
Antonio Bryant, Pittsburgh
Jabar Gaffney, Florida
DEFENSE
LINEMEN
Alex Brown, Florida
Julius Peppers, North Carolina
Wendell Bryant, Wisconsin
LINEBACKERS
Trev Faulk, Louisiana State
Rocky Calmus, Oklahoma
Saleem Rasheed, Alabama
Kalimba Edwards, South Carolina
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Roy Williams, Oklahoma
Chris Hope, Florida State
Dennis Weathersby, Oregon State
Pig Prather, Mississippi State
SPECIAL TEAMS
PLACEKICKER
Jeff Chandler, Florida
PUNTER
Preston Gruening, Minnesota
KICK RETURNER
Aaron Lockett, Kansas State
Andrew Bagnato’s Top 25
Tribune college football reporter Andrew Bagnato votes in the AP college football poll. Here is his preseason Top 25 picks:
1. FLORIDA
Rose Bowl traditionalists shudder at the thought of orange-and-blue halter tops in Pasadena.
2. OREGON
The Ducks find little respect away from the West Coast, which could fuel drive to Rose Bowl.
3. MIAMI
The biggest question mark is at head coach, where untested Larry Coker takes over.
4. NEBRASKA
Defense can carry Huskers until rebuilt offensive line matures.
5. OREGON STATE
Coming off last year’s most impressive bowl win, a 41-9 rampage over Notre Dame in the Fiesta.
6. OKLAHOMA
Defending national champs slip in the rankings with the loss of star quarterback Josh Heupel, but successor Nate Hybl may surprise.
7. FLORIDA STATE
A lock for the ACC crown but could struggle to make fourth straight BCS title game.
8. TENNESSEE
The Volunteers are on their way if they can upset Florida in the Swamp.
9. TEXAS
Lots of returning players. Also a returning head coach, which may be the problem.
10. LOUISIANA STATE
After beating Tennessee and Alabama last year, Nick Saban has them baying for more in the bayou.
11. VIRGINIA TECH
A cheesy schedule (Connecticut?) gives the Hokies time to recover from the loss of quarterback Michael Vick.
12. KANSAS STATE
The Wildcats have eight new starters on defense.
13. MICHIGAN
Lucky dogs don’t have to play Northwestern again.
14. NOTRE DAME
If the Fighting Irish survive September, they may make noise in the BCS.
15. MISSISSIPPI STATE
Just about anyone can win the SEC West, and the Bulldogs like their chances behind quarterback Wayne Madkin.
16. GEORGIA TECH
Jackets have lots of offensive weapons but will miss offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen, who took over ACC rival Maryland.
17. WASHINGTON
With early games against Miami and Michigan, the Huskies could rise quickly.
18. PURDUE
Boilermakers look to repeat Big Ten title behind their defense.
19. ALABAMA
New coach Dennis Franchione tries to turn around a team coming off its poorest season since 1957.
20. NORTHWESTERN
How will the Wildcats respond to the death of Rashidi Wheeler?
21. UCLA
Bruins face Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon State and Washington in first six weeks.
22. SOUTH CAROLINA
Lou Holtz swung an eight-game improvement last year. Now he looks for consistency from the Gamecocks.
23. OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes have holes everywhere, but also a new outlook under incoming head coach Jim Tressel.
24. CLEMSON
The Tigers gave up 126 points in their three losses a year ago, so defense needs to be a priority.
25. EAST CAROLINA
Unheralded Conference USA outfit might turn out to be the best team in the Carolinas.
