Three Reasons Why Black Coaches are Doomed to Fail – Part Three

For the past two weeks, we’ve discussed three reasons why American institutions and organizations may follow a one-and-done rule with high profile minority hires namely Presumed Incompetence and White Entitlement.

So what role might minority occupants of prominent positions – however unwittingly – play in making that practice more likely?

That brings us to the Role Model Theory. Even though Charles Barkley doesn’t think sports figures qualify as role models, some are. The nation’s racial history sometimes compels blacks, especially in sports, to take on the burden of associating their presence in a high profile position with racial progress. Not long after he became general manager of the Texans, Rick Smith said publicly he hoped his appointment had blazed a trail, would serve as an example to young black people, and show that blacks can perform in such roles.

On its face, this Role Model Theory seems harmless, admirable even. But, like The Force in Star Wars, it has a dark side. When blacks cast their advancement in racial rather than individual terms, they invite the rest of society to evaluate them, and all blacks, through the prism of race. If a Rick Smith or Charlie Strong success might show that blacks can perform in such jobs, some people can use their failure to make the case blacks can’t perform.

This is illogical, of course. Anyone schooled in formal logic (or even informal logic) could demonstrate that the fact one person with a particular characteristic wasn’t successful in an endeavor doesn’t prove another person with that same characteristic will also fail in the endeavor. This is especially true when the characteristic – skin color – hasn’t been shown to determine capacity to do the job. Beyond that, hardly anyone would say a white coach’s failure as the football coach at Texas should mean that no other white person ought to get the position in the future. But, the converse may not hold. If Texas fires Strong, some people will think that Texas can’t make the mistake of hiring another black coach.

The potential availability of other competent black football coaches demonstrates the short-sightedness of a one-black-is-enough rule. This year, Syracuse University hired as its head coach a black man named Dino Babers. Babers took on a tough task in trying to bring the Orange back to prominence. Syracuse plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division where two 800 – pound gorillas – Clemson and Florida State – rampage. But, suppose Babers achieves a measure of success at Syracuse, perhaps winning 8 to 10 games in each of his first few seasons there. That might make him an attractive prospect for a job at a truly big time, traditional football power – a place like Texas.

It turns out that Babers possesses qualities and experience Texas would likely want if it pulls the plug on Strong. Before the head coaching success at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green that got him the Syracuse job, Babers coached and recruited in Texas. He served as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M for two years and as an assistant for four seasons at Baylor. There he learned from Art Briles, about the hottest offensive mind in the game today. While other black coaches certainly would qualify, if Dino Babers succeeds at Syracuse, the idea Texas would not consider him seems ludicrous, unless Strong’s failure pre-ordains no more blacks for a while. The Role Model Theory could provide a convenient excuse for a reluctance to hire another black since the theory casts the occupant of the position in racial terms, not individual strengths and weaknesses.

The three of us have each been "firsts" in something. One was the first black in our home state named to a number of high profile political and civic positions, one was the first black United States Magistrate Judge in the South, the other the first black partner in his large, mostly white law firm. Each of us had to decide how to deal with the Role Model Theory. How much did we want to take on being an example for other black people?

We decided differently, based on our individual attitudes and orientations about race and racial issues. One of us embraced the Role Model Theory, another disdained it, and one took a practical, philosophical approach, putting emphasis on the history of race discrimination in America which makes it impossible to ignore that blacks haven’t held certain positions, while acknowledging that someone had to be first. Despite the wisdom in this approach, the Role Model Theory still leaves individual blacks, and other historically disadvantaged ethnic and gender groups, vulnerable to the possibility the public will see an individual failure as a group failure.

None of our theories – Presumed Incompetence, White Entitlement, or Role Model − address whether Smith or Strong should keep their jobs. An honest evaluation suggests each has a good case for staying where he is, but neither has been perfect. Despite the fan complaints, Smith appears to have the confidence of Texans owner Bob McNair. For an NFL general manager, nothing else matters. Anyone evaluating Smith should take note of the ambiguity about how much authority he’s had on player personnel matters. Did he really make the draft decisions fans like the talk show caller railed against? The public often gets conflicting information about such matters, and the principals prefer to leave outsiders guessing about who really calls the shots. Whatever the process, Smith gets much of the blame for the Texans lack of a franchise quarterback and their lengthy list of failed draft picks.

Strong made mistakes, especially with his offensive coaching staff, but seems to have recognized those errors and corrected them. The 2016 season will determine whether he’s done enough soon enough. Anybody who understands college football knows two years, or even three, seldom suffice to turn around a program, particularly if the job required dismissing a large number of players who habitually violated the fundamental rules (like not assaulting women) the rest of us must live by.

The talk show caller’s claim that Rick Smith is "holding back my race" and the resulting conversation highlight yet another dynamic in America’s race conversation. Reasonable people can disagree about whether either Rick Smith or Charlie Strong should remain in their positions. The cases for and against each rest on nuances impatient football fans often don’t consider. But, the question of whether a black should succeed either upon his being fired confronts the country with yet another racial dilemma. If their superiors decide to go in a different direction, a decision to rule out another black person because of the race of the position’s previous occupant indicates acceptance of presumptions and assumptions that spring from the same racial animus that kept people like Smith and Strong out of their jobs in the first place.

Do you agree or disagree with our three theories? Sound off in the comments below.

Three Reasons Why Black Coaches are Doomed to Fail – Part Two

Last week we told the story of a radio talk show caller who suggested that a certain black NFL executive is “holding back my race” with his mediocre performance as the team’s general manager (Read about it here).

The comment led the talk show hosts to predict that if Houston Texans General Manager Rick Smith gets fired, the team won’t hire another black g.m.  The hosts also forecast that if the University of Texas cuts the cord on embattled head football coach Charlie Strong, the Longhorns won’t hire another black head coach.

We suggested America may operate on a one-and-done rule and Presumed Incompetence represents one reason.  Today, we explore a related reason for the possible reluctance of professional sports franchises and major college football programs to replace a black with a black − White Entitlement.

Reason No. 2 why Black Coaches are Doomed to Fail?

White Entitlement, which flows from “White Privilege” − the idea that being white in the United States produces engrained advantages many white people don’t recognize they have. White privilege means, for example, race never becomes an issue in encounters between whites and law enforcement, when a white person runs for office, nobody asks what it’ll mean to become the first white person to hold the office, and being white puts individuals on the road to economic and social success with race never being mentioned in connection with that success. 

For years, whites held the jobs Rick Smith and Charlie Strong now have. For much of our lives (all three of us were born before 1952), it was difficult, almost impossible, to imagine those jobs being filled by anyone but a white person. Indeed, on the hot August night in 2014 of Strong’s first game at the helm of the UT football team, one of us wondered what some 1964 Texas fan who had been in a coma for 50 years but awoke in his 40 yard line seat at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium would think upon seeing a black man lead the Longhorns onto the field.  The idea was mindboggling and acknowledged the power of White Entitlement.  After all, the head football coach at the University of Texas is “supposed” to be white.  If the coach at Texas is “supposed” to be white but, for whatever reason, a black person got the job and didn’t do it well, the natural order of things requires returning the position to a white person entitled to it.

We’ve seen the White Entitlement theory up close and personal.  Soon after the appointment of one of as a United States Magistrate (title later changed to Magistrate Judge), a white lawyer acquaintance said on several occasions, “Henry, you got my job.”  In theory at least, federal magistrate positions are promised to no one.  Appointments result from a rigorous review process involving the bar, the public, and the President-nominated, Senate-confirmed federal judges in the district.  Since the lawyer had no personal assurance of getting a magistrate’s position, it’s reasonable to wonder if race underpinned his statement.  The lawyer might not have been personally entitled to the job, but he could have felt racially entitled.

Join us next week for Part Three of Why Black Coaches are Doomed to Fail. Hint - Blacks, women, and other historically disadvantaged groups could be the reason.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.

 

Three Reasons Why Black Coaches are Doomed to Fail – Part One

“Rick Smith has to go.  He’s holding back my race.”

That recent tirade by a caller to a radio sports talk show against Rick Smith, the black general manager of the NFL’s Houston Texans, and the conversation it generated among the white hosts of the show, illustrated another flashpoint in America’s never - ending struggle with race – the impact race (or gender) has on success in a high profile job.  The discussion led us to ask whether America follows a one-and-done rule for minorities and women in prominent positions.    

Since Smith took over as Houston’s general manager in 2006, the relatively young NFL franchise (established in 2002) has been maddeningly mediocre.  Its regular season record during Smith’s tenure is 79 – 81 and 2 – 3 in postseason play. The team has been bad as often as it’s been good, but mostly it’s been ordinary.

After the caller’s declaration that Smith is “holding back my race,” the white talk show hosts jumped in to assert that if Smith gets the axe, we can assume the next Texans’ general manager won’t be black. They then turned to the predicament of embattled University of Texas football coach Charlie Strong, forecasting that Texas won’t hire another black head coach if he doesn’t get the Longhorns turned around next season.

Strong finds himself on the coaching hot seat after two disappointing years (6 – 7 with an embarrassing bowl loss to Arkansas in his first season and 5 – 7 with no bowl game in 2015, despite signature wins over highly ranked rivals Oklahoma and Baylor).  Many predict that to survive he must lead the Longhorns to nine wins in 2016 (the right eight might suffice).  Whether he should be in that position after only two seasons is a different matter, but little doubt exists about the reality Strong faces.   

 (Full disclosure:  one of us holds two University of Texas degrees and counts himself an unabashed Texas fan, 20-year season ticket holder, and current or former member of multiple UT alumni and support groups.  All three of us grew up in Strong’s native Arkansas.)

The caller’s contention that Smith’s alleged underperformance holds back black people and the hosts’ assertion that neither the Texans nor the Longhorns will hire a black to replace Smith or Strong if their bosses show them the door leads to a simple question:

Why? 

What should a black NFL general manager’s performance have to do with the racial identity of his successor? What does it matter to the decision about who the University of Texas hires as its next coach that its prior black coach failed in the position?  

Are big-time college football programs and professional sports franchises done with black coaches and executives if one fails?  Here’s our first reason for why that may be the case:

Presumed Incompetence − This theory holds that white-run organizations operate on the premise that any black person put into a significant job will do it poorly until that person demonstrates otherwise.  Whatever the reason Smith got the Texans general manager’s job, it was “natural” to assume he wouldn’t do well because he’s black. Until he shows – perhaps by putting together a Super Bowl team – that his color didn’t predict incompetence, the presumption remains.  Smith, in doing whatever it takes to get fired, would have confirmed the opinions and no need exists to try another black person. 

If we believe the Presumed Incompetence theory, it’s easy to think Texas wouldn’t hire a black coach to replace a deposed Charlie Strong.  Part of Strong’s problem at Texas lies in the fact he wasn’t the choice of some prominent UT boosters and donors.  Many of them had the fantasy – and that’s all it was – that Texas could steal Nick Saban from Alabama or lure Super Bowl winning coach John Gruden out of his ESPN comfort zone.  Evidence suggests this group saw Strong as an affirmative action hire not worthy of comparison to UT’s dream coaches. Despite his success as defensive coordinator for national championship teams at Florida, 11 and 12 win seasons and a 3 – 1 bowl record as head coach at Louisville, and spots on the Lou Holtz and Urban Meyer coaching trees, these disgruntled supporters believed (and one said so publicly) Strong wasn’t qualified to be the Texas head coach.

We’ve seen many public and private applications of the Presumed Incompetence theory.  It wasn’t that long ago when then Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Al Campanis went on Nightline and proclaimed blacks don’t have the “necessities” to manage or run major league baseball teams.  Despite host Ted Koppel’s admirable effort to help Campanis walk back his bigoted statement, Campanis kept barreling down the same steep hill.  More recently, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, now deceased, read during an oral argument from an amicus brief that suggested blacks belong in “slower” colleges and universities. In a personal, private context, a white law school classmate told one of us, “Woodson, I think you’re going to make it.”  No real relationship existed with the student.  The only plausible explanation for the comment seemed to lie in his astonishment that a black person could frame intelligent comments in class. 

Join us next week for Part Two of Why Black Coaches are Doomed to Fail.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.
 

We are Jones Walker Wiley. And Here's Why You Should Care

Jones Walker Wiley, or JWW for short, sounds like a law firm and that’s not a coincidence. We are three lawyers with lots of opinions. We had to call this blog something and what we’re doing here is more important than what we call it, anyway.

What we’re doing is talking about the things that have animated our lives, all our lives – politics, sports, race, world affairs. They’re the things that have led us to think, read books, engage with each other, and engage with our fellow humans.

A word about who we are.  We are three men, all of African descent, all Americans who lived through the turbulence of the last part of the 20^th century and the beginnings of this one.  We’ve spent a lot of time thinking, talking, and reading about the things we now want to write about in this space.  We have a lot we want to say. We think it worth saying and worth hearing.

More specifically, we are:

J—Henry L. Jones, Jr.:  Yale graduate, former federal magistrate judge, grandfather supreme, master of the Smartphone;

W – Woodson D. Walker: Minnesota law graduate, real estate investor, phoenix, maybe the most serious man in America about racial, economic, and social justice; and

W – Rob L. Wiley:  Once-upon-a–time broadcaster, still-at-it lawyer, wannabe novelist, college football fanatic.

We share the view that we owe to our birth families – who cared for and nurtured us well – most of the credit for whatever success we may have had. We were “lucky” to have been born into supportive families and do not take this accident of birth for granted.  Each of us, therefore, has sought to do by our children as well as our parents did by us.

We know each other through friendships that started in Arkansas in the 60s and 70s and that survived and thrived even if two of us live other places now.  Two of us worked in the same law firm, two of us got involved in the same political enterprise, and two of us bonded through mutual obsessions with tennis and golf.

The three of us became a sum greater than those parts.  Our joint friendship developed the way many do – through co-incidences that involved work, professional collaborations, social interactions, and accident.  Mutual admiration and respect grew among us. The fact we had (and have) differences and disagreements made our interaction rich and intriguing.  We will put all that – and more – on display here.

We hope you will follow along on the journey by reading and commenting. We can’t promise you’ll always like what we have to say, but we can promise you’ll never be bored.