FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 1st, 2021

TONY DUNGY HOSTS PANEL ON MINORITY COACHING IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL TONIGHT AT 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN; AVAILABLE NOW ACROSS NBC SPORTS DIGITAL CHANNELS

 “Wouldn’t you think in college football – when we’re supposed to be exemplifying other ideals, and we’re trying to be the leadership in the country – that it would look a little different on college campus maybe than the NFL?” – Dungy on the lack of minority head coaches in college football

“I have a real strong disappointment with the state of where we are right now based on the talent level available.” – Former Notre Dame & Stanford head coach Ty Willingham

They’re not hiring coaches anymore, they’re electing them. It’s almost like we have to campaign.” – Maryland head coach Mike Locksley

STAMFORD, Conn. – March 1, 2021 – Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach and NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy hosts a conversation on the state of minority coaching in college football with Maryland head coach Mike Locksley and former Notre Dame and Stanford coach Ty Willingham, premiering on NBCSN tonight at 6 p.m. ET. The conversation is available now across NBC Sports Digital channels and will re-air on NBCSN over the next two weeks.

Following is the Race & Sports in America: Conversations – Minority Coaches in College Football schedule on NBCSN:

DATE TIME (ET)
Mon., March 1 6 p.m.
Tues., March 2 8 a.m.
Mon., March 8 3 p.m.
Wed., March 10 12:30 a.m.
Fri., March 12 2 p.m.

 

Following are highlights from the roundtable with Dungy, Locksley and Willingham on minority coaching in college football:

Dungy on the state of minority coaches in college football: “I’m disappointed in minority hiring in the National Football League, but everyone says, ‘Well, that’s 32 owners and everyone’s trying to make a profit and they’re running their team the way they want to.’ … Wouldn’t you think in college football – when we’re supposed to be exemplifying other ideals and we’re trying to be the leadership in the country – that it would look a little different on college campus maybe than the NFL?”

Willingham: “My problem is, if there is talent, then we should attract talent. What we’re saying is that obviously there is a disregard for African American talent, because…we’ve gone through the universities, we’ve received the degrees, we are smart, we are intelligent, we are knowledgeable. Many of us have played the game at the highest level, and yet when you say, ‘I want to make my team the best,’ and those that are in the hiring position are turning their back on talent, to me, that’s contrary to the game itself. So, I have a real strong disappointment…with the state of where we are right now based on the talent level available and the precedent that we want to set by being winning programs.”

Locksley: “We just have to be able to kick the door down, do a great job. They’re not hiring coaches anymore, they’re electing them. It’s almost like we have to campaign…Somehow, someway, we have got to continue to put those names out of all these assistant coaches that are doing bang-up jobs. We have enough qualified candidates in the college football pool to be able to fill some of the (jobs) and we just need the opportunity. We need to promote it and we’ve got to campaign our tails off to make sure that it’s not just a two-month conversation [in] December and January when these jobs open, but a 12-month conversation, and the campaign starts today.”

Willingham on his decision to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame in 2002: “In going to Notre Dame, one of my reasons was that this could be a move to help us, to help African Americans because at that time, when I left (Stanford), I thought in my mind, there were two other African Americans that had enough resume to get that job at Notre Dame. One was our host today, Tony Dungy. The other was Dennis Green…So for me to go and be there was a step to move us forward, and that was part of my thinking.”

Locksley on the formation of the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches: “I wanted to be really laser focused on just football and minority coaches in football. So, I remember picking up the phone, and Mike Tomlin and I came in this business around the same time, and I called Mike T., and I said, ‘Look, Mike. I’m thinking about doing something. I want to create an organization similar to what the BCA was for us to pay forward opportunities.’ Especially the experience I’ve had, a failed head coach that was fired that now has a chance to run a program as a minority a second time, is not normal.”

***

Dungy, who was the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl, recently hosted a roundtable on the state of minority coaching hires in the NFL with former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, Atlanta Falcons President & CEO and member of the NFL’s Competition Committee Rick McKay, and co-host of Peacock’s Brother From Another Michael Smith. The roundtable is available on NBCSports.com and NBC Sports’ YouTube channel.

On Feb. 4, Dungy penned an open letter to NFL owners on the state of minority coaching hires, available now on NBCSports.com. In the letter, Dungy, advocates that embracing minority hiring in every aspect of the game will “keep the legacy moving forward and make the NFL the best league we can be.”

Following are highlights from the roundtable with Dungy, Caldwell, McKay and Smith on minority coaching in the NFL:

Dungy: “Progress to me is if we can get people to the table, if we can get people being viewed and have an opportunity…Bring everybody to the table and let’s talk about who fits our needs and what we’re looking for. If we get that, we’re going to see the progress that we’re looking for.”

Caldwell on issues within the hiring process: “Ownership still is not that familiar with folks that aren’t right within their circle…I still think you’re finding situations, even this year, where some owners called people in the media and asked them, ‘Hey, who should I be talking to or who should we interview?’”

McKay on the Rooney Rule: “The way we’ve done the rules, we have not been intentional enough to make sure that the process is completely open, and now we’re starting to get more intentional and I think that will help us…I believe that you’re going to be surprised, I hope, pleasantly surprised over the next four years in that I think the coordinator issue is going to look different and I think therefore our head coach issue is going to look different from a minority hiring standpoint. I’m convinced of that, but the proof will be in the pudding.”

Smith on the conversation surrounding minority hiring: “This should be an ongoing conversation and a process that’s not just reserved for December and January. We need to be talking about minority coaches and the team scouting process when it comes to coaches and general managers year-round so that owners can have these names on their mind when it comes time to make these decisions.”

–NBC SPORTS–