Doug Williams, Johnnie Cole Discuss Black Coordinators' Importance for HBCU Players

Doug Williams visited the "The HBCU Stroll with Johnnie Cole" podcast to discuss his days as a player, head coach, and thoughts on the current state of HBCU football and sports.

Doug Williams visited the "The HBCU Stroll with Johnnie Cole" podcast to discuss his days as a player, head coach, and thoughts on the current state of HBCU football and sports. 

Johnnie Cole is a former Texas Southern quarterback (1982-1985) and later its head football coach (2008-2010).  Both men are true competitors, outstanding players, and good head coaches — especially for young HBCU football players.

The two Ol' SWAC QBs were chatting, and Cole got "Grade D Messy" with this question to Williams. "You didn't hire a white offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator, did you?"  

Perhaps the question is benign to some outside the HBCU coaching ranks, but inside, it's imperative to get it right. Cole's reference to the color of the coordinators may reference the hiring of Art Briles at Grambling and Brett Bartolone at Jackson State University. Briles eventually stepped down due to the controversy surrounding his issues as Baylor's head coach. 

Williams responded to Cole, "it's too many young, or old, or whatever; there are too many black coaches out there." He paused after a Cole comment as he continued, "Johnnie, it would be tough if there weren't no coaches out there. We got coaches who can do whatever job needs to be done."

Quite a few HBCU assistant coaches quietly bemoaned the hiring of Briles and Bartolone. Why Hue Jackson hired Briles and Deion Sanders offered Bartolone the JSU job isn't the issue for old ball coaches like Cole and Williams. It's about the culture and respect for talented assistants waiting for the few opportunities for promotion to a coordinator or head coaching positions.

"I will be honest. I looked at guys that I know can do his job. And every guy I knew what was a black guy. So, I had no reason to go outside that realm to bring in other coaches."

Williams wanted his players to interact with assistant coaches who looked like them and understood these coaches would help them be successful. In 2021, 71% of NFL players identified as black. Yet, in the Power Five, black athletes make up 55.7% of men's football programs. The significance of reflecting the composition of a team is driving the narrative of Cole's and Williams' conversation.

"It's something special when your player sees a black man in a coordinator position. That's big time. You know, and I think that's, that's what we got to do. And these presidents, ADs [athletic directors], got to get away from saying, 'well, he worked over here, or he worked over there.' First of all, and whether they believe it or not, when you work at an HBCU, it's so much different than working anywhere else," Williams exclaimed.