Why is this such a Big Deal??? Because only 12 of the 125 Major College Football Schools are led by a Black Coach. A number that has dramatically increased over the past two seasons. Prior to 2013, that number was in the single digits. In more simple terms:
- Black Coaches are rarely considered for Major Head Coaching Opportunities
- The vast majority of the schools willing to hire a Black Coach have been mired in losing & dysfunction for years prior to the hire
- Once hired, few of them will get more than three years to turn around those programs
- Once fired, they DO NOT get second chances at other schools
- Only ONE Coach (Ty Willingham) has EVER received a 2nd Major Coaching Job; and in both cases he was terminated almost as fast as he was hired.
Therefore there is so much on the line for the 2014 NCAA College Football Season, as the future of so many other Black Assistant coaches hangs in the balance. If Sumlin & Shaw continue on with the momentum built from the past two seasons, at Texas A&M and Stanford respectively, the future will be bright. More importantly, the entire football world will be watching to see how Charlie Strong and James Franklin handle the pressure of being charged with leading the Texas Longhorn & Penn State Nittany Lion programs back to a perch of Dominance. And on a smaller scale, many will be watching closely to cheer for-or denounce-the hiring young Derek Mason at Vanderbilt, Darrell Hazell at Purdue, Willie Taggert at The University of South Florida. It is the success of these vanguard coaches that will get others hired-and may also lead to promotions to bigger jobs for small school coaches like Paul Haynes of Kent State, Trent Miles of Georgia State, and Curtis Johnson of Tulane University. One element working for the good is that Kevin Sumlin's Texas A&M pulled in the 2nd Ranked Recruiting Class in the Nation this year-led by Myles Garrett-the nation's #1 Ranked Defensive End Prospect this year. I know we've got several months to wait before these teams hit the field; but the 2014 College Football Season guarantees to be an exciting year. Stay Tuned...