408–165–15

[Adam Gamradt]

I caught an interesting radio show the other day, though I can't recall which station it was on.

Eddie Robinson coached Grambling from 1941–1997, with a record of 408-165-15. That is nearly a 70% winning percentage.

Quite simply, Coach was one of the best in the history of college football.

I've done a bit of reading after hearing the radio show, and found some shocking, if not surprising data.

There are 616 football teams affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Only 16, or 2.6%, are lead by African-American head coaches.

In 2006, there were 5 black head coaches, out of 119 D1 jobs.

It is obvious that the inequities in hiring coaches for major college sports like football that are not being addressed.

Given the perception of our sport, and our stated goal of growing the sport around the country, what is being done to promote our game outside of its traditional and self imposed boundries?

Aron Lipkin of Home Grown Lacrosse, recently spent a month in South Africa, and I know he brought at least a dozen sticks to distribute. I'd say he is a wonderful example of someone taking his passion for the beauty of lacrosse, and promoting the game beyond it's traditional boundaries.

[Beta]

It is obvious that the inequities in hiring coaches for major college sports like football that are not being addressed.

There are indeed a low amount of black coaches in NCAA, but I dont think it's a "hiring" inequality as it is a "application" inequality in terms of how many black coaches apply for position as opposed to white coaches that apply.

But that's just my opinion.

[StrykerFSU]

Coach Robinson was one of the greatest coaches and men of the Twentieth Century, though many of us were too young at the time of his retirement to fully grasp what he meant to college football. His passing has sparked a great deal of commentary from all manner of journalists, both black and white. I was particularly struck by this comment by LZ Granderson on ESPN.com,

When I heard that Eddie Robinson had died, I immediately thought about the meeting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had on Tuesday with Pacman Jones and Chris Henry. Coach Robinson, the man responsible for sending so many black men to the NFL, died on the same day the league was forced to confront two black athletes for acting like fools. And make no mistake, this proposed lifetime ban is a direct result of the rash of lawlessness by black NFL players.

Call me an Uncle Tom for saying that if you want. But the fact is, one by one the great faces of the civil rights movement are passing on, and too many of us in high-profile positions are dishonoring their efforts with our recklessness. We used to march hand in hand for the good of the community. Now some of our strongest hands are busy grabbing dollars, guns, car keys and the backsides of strippers.

Coach Robinson said he tried to coach each player as if he wanted him to marry his daughter. That means he spent nearly 60 years of his life teaching black men to live their lives with honor and integrity. I can't help but wonder if he left this Earth with a broken heart.

Who is replacing the Coach Robinsons of the world?

Adam also brings up a great point but that figure should be common knowledge to any fan of college football just for its sheer insanity. I don't know that forcing schools to interview black candidates as in the NFL is the answer but something is clearly wrong. I do see hope when men like Ty Willingham are being hired and fired. When schools are rehiring cast off black coaches at least one could argue that they are being treated as equals to the retread white coaches we see bouncing from program to program. Treatment like this of Denny Green in the NFL is often used to illustrate a certain leveling of the playing field.

[sohotrightnow]

There are indeed a low amount of black coaches in NCAA, but I dont think it's a "hiring" inequality as it is a "application" inequality in terms of how many black coaches apply for position as opposed to white coaches that apply.

But that's just my opinion.

You are entitled to your opinion, but I don't know how you came to this conclusion. Universities each have unique ways of finding new football coaches, with the University president and others usually putting together a search committee. How many University presidents are black? Extending that logic to the football field, how many assistants are black? Few and far between in both cases. For some reason, the NFL and NCAA have performed miserably when it comes to hiring minority candidates. Eddie Robinson was never, NEVER, approached for an interview for a D 1-A position. Tyrone Willingham only got hired at Notre Dame after O'Leary was found to have doctored his resume. The fact remains, NCAA football is a huge revenue source for major Universities. Unfortunately, since there are so many white University presidents, they have to appease certain white donors who want a familiar face leading their football team, thus it does not appear that this situation will correct itself in the near future. People in positions of power at they University level need to be bold, go against conventional wisdom and start hiring qualified minority football coaches. Plain and simple.

[univduke21]

Couldn't of said it better myself. Did you know that Charlie Wiess was given a multi million dollar long term contract for producing the same results in his first season and a half as Willingham did. Willingham was promptly fired after his third season. I am not trying to say anything particular about the University of Notre Dame but it is a little funny to me.

[Danny Hogan]

Not really an apples to apples comparison...

the extension for weiss in the middle of his first year was a head scratcher. although they did beat #3 michigan @ michigan and almost beat #1 USC right before they extended his contract.

willingham's 2nd and 3rd seasons were complete busts. 5-7, 6-5 (went to 6-6 after bowl game that Ty Willy did not coach) is not going to get it done at notre dame.

To me Weiss's extension is oddly premature, i don't think racist though.

Willingham not getting an extension (they sucked from the start in his 2nd year) and getting fired (they sucked for 2 years straight) makes sense.

here is to ND sucking it up and firing another coach soon.