The day after the New England Patriots ended their NFL season with a miserable 4-13 record, team owner Robert Kraft Jerod Mayo, the team's first black head coach, fired. In a press conference after his decision, Kraft explained that he used Mayo.an unsustainable situationBy adjusting it to steer a below -average team.

The evaluation of Kraft reflects a very familiar reality for black coaches within the NFL. Although black players make up 53% of all NFL players Only 19% Black men are from head coaches.

At the start of the 2024 season, the NFL began itself League record With nine of his 32 head coaches of minorities. In addition to Mayo, Las Vegas' Antonio PiercePittsburgh Mike TomlinTampa Bay's Todd BowlesAtlanta Raheem Morris and Houston Demeco Ryans are black. They were accompanied by Carolina's Dave channelsThe Mexican American is Miamis Biracial Mike McDaniel And the New York Jets' Robert SalehWho is Lebanese descent.

From End of the seasonThree of those trainers were gone, including The Raiders of the Pierce. Like Mayo, Pierce received a season to show a team with a lack of record. Saleh was fired During the season.

From my opinion as as A scholar for breed and skilled sportsThe shots revealed the NFLS Double standards For black head coaches and suggest that black men are still more valued for his or her sporting skills than for his or her leadership qualities.

During a FOX NFL Sunday show shortly after Mayo, the previous patriot was fixed Rob Gronkowski Mayos shocking, disappointing and “unfair”.

Stephen A. Smith from ESPN was quickly Guilt the race by Mayo as an element. “They call it Black Monday for a certain reason,” said Smith. “Jerod Mayo clearly had no long chance.”

A checkered story

In 1921, a yr after the opening season of the NFL, Fritz Pollard became the primary black head coach when he was hired to steer the acron professionals. It would take Almost 70 years Before the NFL had its second black head coach in 1989 – Art Shell from The Oakland Raiders.

Since then, black coaches have had only just a few possibilities within the NFL. Even less succeeded. Only two black head coach won Super Bowl title: Tony Dungy the Indianapolis Colts in 2007 and and and Mike Tomlin The Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008.

In order to treatment the dearth of black head coaches, the NFL was explained in 2003 what’s referred to as the Rooney ruleA attitude practice, named after Dan Rooney, the previous owner of Pittsburgh Steelers, who was sitting within the NFL diversity committee. As a rule, the teams should include two minority candidates through the interview process for Head Coaching jobs and later applied to General Manager, Managers and Co -Trainers.

But also with the rule of the black coaches was consistently lower As the proportion of black players. Studies have shown that black coaches are each less prone to be promoted To head coaches as their white colleagues and fewer likely a second likelihood after a lost season.

In fact, no white coaches have been greater than thrice as often as white coaches for the reason that introduction of the Rooney rule in 2003 after a season. USA Today NFL trainer project.

Your data didn’t include the various black co -trainers who’re routinely neglected for his or her first jobs for head coaches.

Eric Bienemy, for instance, shared two Super Bowl championships as an offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 and 2022. In view of his experience, he was expected by NFL analysts to earn a head coach job.

To pursue this goal, Bieniemie left the chiefs In 2023 to hitch the Washington commander, it was a favourite that became the team's next head coach. But the commanders were sold at the tip of the 2023 season and the brand new owners Fir immediately.

We are it Back within the NFL After he was hired by the Chicago Bears as Running Backs trainer in February 2025, a lower rank as his previous position as an offensive coordinator is a lower rank.

The advantage of doubt

The NFL in 2020 pressed out his support For the Black Lives Matter Movement by promoting social justice messages in end zones and helmets of the player. The NFL also stopped Roc Nation, Hip-hop Mogul Jay-Z's companyto administer his music and entertainment.

A yr later, the NFL officially ended its a long time of practice of Racial standardization by which the league has black players routinely cognitive basic rankings within the legal actions in reference to concealment of the brain and subsequent dementia.

But these measures, just like the Rooney rule, haven’t closed the racist differences between NFL head coaches and didn’t prevent white coaches from maintaining the advantage of doubt.

A grievance from Black head coach 2022 remains to be unsolved Brian Flores. Although he published two winnersaisons during his three -year term, he was released by the Miami Dolphins. Flores submitted a suit Against the NFL, the Miami Dolphins and two other NFL teams, which have widespread racial discrimination and attitude practices.

While An interview with reporters Before the Super Bowl 2025, the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defended the range initiatives of the league and said: “We have proven that we did the NFL better.”

Goodell quickly points out that the range of the NFL doesn’t mean a “quota system” by which a certain variety of candidates of every breed are set.

“It is not necessary to hire a specific person based on the breed or gender,” said Goodell. “This is about opening this funnel and bringing the best talent to the NFL.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – What's remarkable is that two women will probably be training for the national championship and one will win a title for the primary time within the 44 years of NCAA women's volleyball. It's notable that these two women, Katie Schumacher-Cawley and Dani Busboom Kelly, do it.

Because they’re the best representatives.

In that historic moment, Schumacher-Cawley at Penn State and Louisville's Busboom Kelly in front of a sold-out KFC Yum! compete against one another. Center and a national ABC audience on Sunday at 3 p.m., they embody what it takes to rise to the highest in a male-dominated industry.

Eighteen of the 20 winningest coaches in Division I women's volleyball history are men.

“It will be great for the sport to get rid of this crap and move on where it's not historic for a woman to win,” said Busboom Kelly, 39, in her eighth season and second time within the National Championship game with the Cardinals. “It’s just a normal thing.”

Penn State (34-2) and Louisville (30-5) reflect the drive and resilience of their coaches. On Thursday, they won national semifinal games against Nebraska and Pittsburgh in dramatic fashion.

Schumacher-Cawley and Busboom Kelly each trained with a gentle hand. They fostered confidence from the sidelines as their teams engineered comebacks against opponents ranked first and second within the nation in talent, depth and championship-level experience.

The Nittany Lions pulled off a five-set reverse sweep and fought off two match points for Nebraska within the fourth set.

At the beginning of the decisive fifth set, junior libero Gillian Grimes heard a relaxing voice within the Penn State huddle: “We were made for this.” The sentence didn’t come from Schumacher-Cawley. But she is the explanation it was spoken.

Louisville's players have been under pressure all season to secure a spot within the Final Four at home. As the stress mounted as Pitt won the primary set and took the lead within the second, Busboom Kelly implored the Cardinals to keep up their composure.

“This will start to work,” she said.

Without star attacker Anna DeBeer, the senior suffered a two-point injury within the fourth set and overwhelmed Pitt after converting three set points for the Panthers within the third set.

In short, Penn State and Louisville refused to go away. They kept making big fluctuations. They played to win.

“We’re not talking about ever losing,” Penn State outside hitter Jess Mruzik. “We never count ourselves out, no matter the size of the deficit we face.”

In the games played in front of an NCAA postseason record crowd of 21,726, Penn State and Louisville were the tougher teams.

Is that a surprise given the coaches?

“Women are tough,” said Nebraska coach John Cook, who has won 4 national championships. “And they’re both really tough. Think of them as players. They both won national championships, so that's no coincidence. These guys are winners. They are great competitors. And their teams play like that.”

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Schumacher-Cawley, 44, is a Chicago tough guy. She grew up in the town and starred in multiple sports at Mother McAuley High. She played at Penn State, earning two All-America honors and winning a national championship for coach Russ Rose in 1999, the varsity's first in women's volleyball.

Rose won six more titles. He is the all-time leader in championships and wins amongst Division I coaches. In 2008, Schumacher-Cawley was inducted into the Chicagoland Hall of Fame in a category alongside Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and Andre Dawson.

She led this system for eight seasons at Illinois-Chicago and returned to Penn State to work for Rose in 2018 — 4 years after the Nittany Lions' last Final Four appearance until last week.

Schumacher Cawley took over when Rose retired in 2022.

“After Russ Rose, to get the team back to the Final Four in just three years,” Busboom Kelly said, “regardless of being a man or a woman, that’s an amazing accomplishment.”

At the beginning of her third season this fall, Schumacher-Cawley announced a stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis and commenced chemotherapy. She lost her hair but never missed a practice together with her team.

“We obviously want to do this for her because she's been so great all season,” said Mruzik, who had a team-best 26 kills against Nebraska. “So this tough five-set win helped lay another foundation for the structure we want to build this season.”

Schumacher-Cawley deflects questions on her health and gender issues in coaching.

“I’m just really excited to represent Penn State,” she said.

Maybe, she said, you'll realize the magnitude of two women on the bench, each calling the shots on the sphere with a trophy, once they step out from under the lights on Sunday.

“I’m proud of this team,” said Schumacher-Cauley. “I think I said that every day. I’m proud of their fight.”

The fight goes beyond volleyball.

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When Busboom Kelly took over Louisville in 2017, she doubled the Cardinals' win total in a season from 12 to 24.

In 2019, Louisville reached the round of eight for the primary time. In 2021, Busboom Kelly was named National Coach of the Year because the Cardinals went undefeated until the Final Four, losing to Wisconsin in five sets. A 12 months later, Texas defeated Louisville for the national championship.

“She engineered one of the greatest turnarounds in any college volleyball program,” Cook said.

Busboom Kelly played for Cook at Nebraska from 2003 to 2006. He recruited her on a farm near Cortland Neb. She was a multi-sport star at tiny Adams Freeman High School.

In college, she switched from setter to libero and, together with future Olympians Jordan Larson and Sarah Pavan, helped the Huskers to a national championship in 2006. In 2015, she won one other title with Cook and the Huskers as an assistant coach.

A 12 months later she took over Louisville.

“I hope people appreciate what she’s done here,” Cook said.

Louisville fans appreciate Busboom Kelly due to reception she and the Cardinals received on Thursday.

“I think the last time I was on the mic talking about Dani, I called her tough,” Louisville middle blocker Phekran Kong said Friday on the championship preview press conference. “So I’m going to double that. Because she’s real.”

In the fourth set Thursday, middle blocker Cara Cresse Busboom promised Kelly she would deliver two blocks after DeBeer left with an injury that might keep the senior All-American out of the championship game.

Cress produced. The momentum turned. The Panthers fell apart late in the sport. Even sophomore opponent Olivia Babcock, who was named national player of the 12 months on Friday, felt the pressure. The cardinals accepted it.

“This is for all the people who doubted us,” Louisville outside hitter Charitie Luper said.

Her coach looked on and smiled.

More than simply breaking a glass ceiling, Busbom Kelly said Sunday she's excited that a lady will probably be coaching her team to the national championship so athletic directors and future players who might grow to be coaches understand it's possible.

“It’s more about being really proud of being able to be role models,” she said, “and hopefully breaking new ground.”

After a 23-22 loss to the struggling Carolina Panthers that prolonged their losing streak to seven games, the New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday.

Allen followed Robert Saleh, formerly of the New York Jets, because the second head coach to be fired this season. Allen compiled an 18-25 record in 2 1/2 seasons in New Orleans. It is the second time in his profession that he didn’t survive his third season on the helm of a team. In 2014, the Oakland Raiders released Allen just 4 games into his third yr with them. For his head coaching profession, Allen has a 26-53 record.

Allen won't be the last NFL head coach to be fired this season. In nine weeks of motion, nine of the NFL's 32 teams have managed just two wins each. Fifteen teams have losing records.

Time passes quickly and without sudden rebounds, a few of these losing teams will likely follow the Jets and Saints' lead and switch their attention to the longer term.

Here's a have a look at the coaches who look like on the recent seat because the second half of the NFL regular season begins.

Jacksonville's stunning decline continues. Pederson and his team appear headed toward double-digit losses just two seasons after winning the AFC South and reaching the divisional round of the playoffs, where they lost 27-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Pederson and the Jaguars went 1-1 on their trip to London in Weeks 6 and seven, but returned to the United States and promptly lost games to Green Bay and Philadelphia. Trevor Lawrence's regression continues, Jacksonville's defense gave up greater than 400 yards on Sunday for the fifth time this season and the Jaguars are minus-7 within the turnover department (third-worst yards). Next? A house game against the 6-2 Minnesota Vikings, followed by a visit to the 7-1 Detroit Lions. It appears to be a matter of when, not if owner Shad Khan will pull the plug again.

A yr after Pierce took over for a struggling Josh McDaniels midseason and led the Raiders to a powerful 5-4 finish, the previous linebacker appears to have already lost his talent. Game management is a giant challenge for the brand new head coach. He has flopped quarterback twice now, firing offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, offensive line coach James Cregg and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello on Sunday after just nine games on the team.

This roster isn't well constructed, but Pierce seems overwhelmed. It could be a surprise if he made it to second grade. If he doesn't make it, control former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel this offseason, who has a detailed relationship with recent Raiders minority owner Tom Brady. Vrabel is now a coach and recruiter for the Cleveland Browns.

Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns (2-7)

Deshaun Watson's failure to regain his prowess on the sector was apparently only a part of Cleveland's problems. The Browns have regressed on almost every front in 2024. Every week after Jameis Winston caused the Baltimore Ravens' upset, the Browns bounced back with a 27-10 loss to the LA Chargers. Before that win over Baltimore, Stefanski turned the sport over to Ken Dorsey, but three turnovers and a sputtering rushing attack kept the Browns in check against the Chargers. Meanwhile, their defense also continues to be subpar.

The Browns managed a second-half playoff lead last season with a backup quarterback (Joe Flacco), but that seems highly unlikely this yr. Watson is out for the remaining of the season with an Achilles tendon injury, but given the Browns' obvious commitment to him despite his issues, they may go for a training change.

Team owner John Mara said last month that he stays loyal to Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, but as Daniel Jones' ineptitude continues and losses proceed to mount, it's hard to assume him sticking with that stance. Especially because running back Saquon Barkley (the one who escaped) delivered breathtaking highlights shortly afterwards with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jerry Jones continues to say he’s committed to McCarthy, but McCarthy stays a poor coach and his team underperforms in virtually every phase of the sport. Jones has opened the checkbook for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, however the Cowboys' offense has deteriorated and things are only going to worsen with Prescott now out for several weeks with a hamstring injury. However, with or without Prescott, McCarthy lacks the innovation to repair this. As the embarrassment and loss proceed to mount, one has to wonder how rather more of this Jones can take.

He began the season on thin ice, but Eberflus hoped Caleb Williams could lead on a revival in Chicago. Instead, the coach faces one other bumpy season that may likely end badly. A shaky start was preceded by some encouraging developments and a three-game winning streak. But then got here the embarrassing Hail Mary loss in Washington, followed by Sunday's poor performance against Arizona – a game during which the Bears didn’t rating a touchdown despite Williams and a talented collection of offensive players. Eberflus appears to be losing control of the team as his players show signs of lack of discipline and professionalism. Hope is fading within the Windy City, and Eberflus could also be running out of time and excuses.

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Of course, these coaches should not alone of their disappointing work. Things haven't exactly gone well this season for Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins (2-6), Jerod Mayo of the New England Patriots (2-7), Dave Canales of the Carolina Panthers (2-7) or the Tennessee Titans.” Brian Callahan (2-6).

It looks like McDaniel is getting the benefit of the doubt, considering his team's issues may be tied to Tua Tagovailoa's four-game absence due to a concussion. If there's anyone hot in Miami, it might be general manager Chris Grier, who has failed to find an adequate replacement for Miami's injury-prone starting quarterback. Had Grier given McDaniel a serviceable veteran, the Dolphins might have been able to tread water until Tagovailoa returned.

Meanwhile, David Tepper will likely give Canales more time despite firing Frank Reich after just 11 games last season. If Bryce Young can build on the success of Sunday's win, Canales, Young and the Panthers could enter the offseason with some optimism. Given that Robert Kraft personally handpicked Mayo as the Patriots' future coach near the end of Bill Belichick's legendary tenure, it appears the former New England linebacker will be given additional time to develop into his role as the Patriots take over Drake Maye continues to strengthen the squad. The same goes for Callahan, who oversees a roster that is in the midst of a rebuild and needs a better starting quarterback than Will Levis before he can truly showcase his coaching abilities.

Celts

Joe Mazzulla and the remainder of the Celtics sing a hymn of joy Friday morning as a convoy of amphibious vehicles carries the most recent NBA champions from TD Garden to Boylston Street as a part of Boston's latest title parade and celebration.

But it won't be the primary time that Mazzulla and the remainder of his team will sit on the roof of one in every of the legendary amphibious vehicles and drive through Boston.

Speaking at “Zolak and Bertrand” on 98.5 The Sports Hub on ThursdayMazzulla admitted that he took an amphibious vehicle tour with your complete Boston coaching staff before the beginning of the 2023-24 season.

With several latest additions to his coaching staff, including Charles Lee and Sam Cassel, Mazzulla wanted to arrange a retreat for your complete staff to strengthen cohesion amongst his employees.

Instead of selecting an out-of-town location, Mazulla stressed that his coaches needed to learn more in regards to the city the Celtics desired to win a title for.

And given the Celtics' championship ambitions entering 2023-24, Mazzulla was well aware that a preseason duck boat trip may very well be a prophetic move if Boston Banner won '18.

“We kind of started it,” Mazzulla said. “I said, 'We're going to start the season with the amphibious vehicle tour.' The staff did one — most coaches' retreats, the guys go away, to Cape Cod, other places, we had our coaches' retreat in downtown Boston. We had new staff and we created this identity by building a connection to the city, and I said, 'We're doing our staff retreat in Boston.'

“We're going to eat in Boston, we're going to the Boston Hotel and we're going to do a duck boat tour so we understand the town and its history. We have to know what this is actually about.' We did one at the start of the 12 months. We're going to complete with one.”

It's fair to say Mazzulla is expecting a little more fanfare for himself, his coaching staff and the rest of the Celtics when they climb into the amphibious vehicles again Friday morning.

“I'm really excited to see how people support the players. It's going to be great,” Mazzulla said. “The coolest thing about being a coach is watching a bunch of fellows give all of it up, and I believe that's what our guys did.”

“I believed it was underrated – the attitude, the humility, the sacrifice that the fellows have made all season. And it's going to be really fun to observe them enjoy that.”

Patriots

Alex Van Pelt preached patience on Tuesday when asked when Drake Maye could be given the keys to New England's offense.

“I think of it more like a marathon than a sprint,” Van Pelt admitted. “You don't just run a marathon – you have to really train for a marathon. It's the same with a quarterback.”

“There's a process and we follow that process. We trust that process. And then you can't just send a guy out there and expect him to be successful without the right training. So it's a process. We're taking steps in the right direction.”

That's exactly what Maye did during New England's latest organized team activity (OTA) on Tuesday when it got here to moving up – or reasonably, moving up – in New England's rankings.

After rating third behind fellow quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe in team practices over the past few weeks, Maye overtook Zappe during Tuesday's practice on the fields behind Gillette Stadium and was second within the pecking order by snaps.

And although he was criticized for a few interceptions on a weak day for New England's offense, Maye is pleased with the upward trajectory he has taken since arriving in Foxborough lower than two months ago.

“It's been great,” Maye said. “First time in the NFL. First time practicing. First time on a team. First reps at an NFL practice. I'm just trying to soak it all in. I'm trying to learn as much as I can.”

With training camp still over a month away, the Patriots aren't necessarily focused on a QB competition at once. Rather, New England's rookie minicamp and OTAs function necessary windows of opportunity for the team to hone mechanics and install their playbook.

Maye acknowledged that New England's playbook is kind of extensive. Van Pelt admitted that some plays are between 12 and 14 words long. But despite the flood of data Maye has to process, he believes he’s on the precise track at this stage of the NFL calendar.

“Going forward, just all the terminology. All the movements, all the different formations. I think I understand that pretty well. I'm still in the development phase, getting the new installations every day. But I think I'm a smart kid. I try to understand that pretty quickly,” Maye said. “And then I'm still working on commanding a group and spitting out the plays.

“It's easy to get them and know what I'm going to do, but telling the fellows and being within the huddle and showing gestures to the opposite guys, using my rhythm. I'm just playing quarterback, playing the position. I'm not making as many throws and stuff. Also, I feel footwork is a giant thing. That's something we've been working on. (Quarterbacks coach) TC (McCartney) and people guys and Coach Van Pelt. I feel it's an ongoing process and I feel pretty good about it.”

Van Pelt has stressed the importance of New England's quarterbacks playing left-footed, even if it requires Maye to break down a lot of muscle memory. So far, Maye has made great progress in adapting to this revised technique.

“I might say it's probably just the flexibility to know the footwork,” Van Pelt said of Maye's biggest surprise and development so far. “That's a giant adjustment for a player to are available and completely change his footwork, but he did it straight away. … Our system is all about timing and rhythm within the passing game.

“And I think the left-footed striker has always given this offense the best chance to play on time and in rhythm.”

New England views Maye as a staple at its franchise quarterback position, and his strong arm and durable frame are a compelling argument for why the Patriots chosen the UNC product with the No. 3 pick within the 2024 NFL Draft.

But Van Pelt and the Patriots don't plan to rush Mayes' schedule beyond what he can show in workouts this preseason.

“I think you have to take it as it comes,” Van Pelt said of when Maye could realistically be within the starting lineup for New England. “I really think it's going to be a combination of factors. When those decisions are made, they're made together as a group… But when that happens, we'll see. But there's no timetable. Jacoby is our starter again and he's playing great football for us in the spring. And Drake is coming.”

New England has the posh of not having to make use of Maye within the NFL until he's ready, however the 21-year-old quarterback hopes to force the Patriots into motion with a powerful performance in the approaching months.

“I think it's a battle. Jacoby, Bailey and I. We battle,” Maye said of his current workload. “They shuffle around every day as to who goes to who. It's not necessarily, 'Hey, you go first. You go second.' Jacoby is first and from there, it's play by ear. Obviously, how you do when you're in there is important.”