NFL Goes On Record With List Of Excuses Teams Have Used To Not Hire Black Coaches

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Of the NFL's 32 teams, three have a black head coach. Why there are so few black head coaches has been a question among coaches, media, and the fans for years. And now, the NFL is looking for specific reasons as to why there are so few non-white coaches in the league.

Troy Vincent, the NFL executive vice president of football operations, has been among the leaders looking for answers. He recently spoke with USA Today about his findings from investigations and interviews with various coaching candidates. Now the league is listing excuses teams have made for not hiring a black coach.

Here is a list of those excuses the league went on record with as to why "otherwise-qualified black coaches" have not been hired:

Vincent said that the excuse of the job being different than it previously was "is an example of the ever-moving goalposts for the qualifications of non-white coaches."

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Among non-white coaches passed over in recent hiring cycles are Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, and Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, among others.

"Nobody can tell me that these men here, any combination you want, that they 'don't interview well,' that they 'lack experience,' that they 'didn't look a part' or they 'seemed nervous in the process,' " Vincent explained.

"It's hard for me and many others to accept that. ... We just felt like this is the best that we have. These men, at minimum, should be presented an opportunity to lead a football franchise at the professional level."

Currently, 314 of the 722 on-field coaches in the NFL identify as non-white, which is the largest percentage (43.5%) of non-white coaches in league history.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.