Cleveland Browns Showcase Diversity while Majority of NFL Misses the Mark

The NFL lacks diversity across the coaching staff and front office personnel. The Cleveland Browns are one of the few teams that are diverse in important roles.

The NFL has been the land of opportunity for black male athletes to play professional football at its highest level. Players are paid millions of dollars over the course of their career to put their bodies on the line on a weekly basis. They are viewed as assets by the thirty-two NFL franchises and extremely wealthy owners. These organizations try to squeeze every ounce of value they can out of players before moving onto the next player. Having such an egocentric perspective about football athletes, it results in the average NFL player only playing for about three years. Following the physical toll of playing in the league, players are left with one of two options. They either join the workforce rather it be as an employee or business owner, while others continue their football careers as coaches or front office personnel.

The landscape that was once fruitful with opportunity quickly becomes scarce of employment. A league that has over seventy percent African American players, the demographic is not reflected in front office personnel and both sides of the coaching staff. The NFL has recently made negative headlines for the controversial lack of inclusion of African American candidates in those roles across most organizations. Out of thirty-two franchises there are only two general managers that are African American, those two being Chris Grier and Andrew Berry. Chris Grier who is the general manager of the Miami Dolphins was promoted in 2016 after spending eight seasons as their Director of College Scouting. The other is the Cleveland Browns new general manager Andrew Berry, who is the youngest general manager in NFL history. This is Berry’s second tenure with the Browns after spending two seasons as the Vice President of Player Personnel from 2016 to 2018.

Transitioning from the office to the football field, the number of African American head coaches are also underrepresented compared to the percentage of black players filling out a roster. There are currently only three African American head coaches and only four head coaches of color in the entire the NFL. These minority head coaches include Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Anthony Lynn of the Los Angeles Chargers, second year coach Brian Flores with the Miami Dolphins and lastly Ron Rivera who is the new head coach of the Washington Redskins. Of the African American coaches, each went through different paths in order to become a head coach. Mike Tomlin who is the longest tenured of the group, is a two-time super bowl champion and is also the youngest coach to win a super bowl. Tomlin found his calling on the defensive side of the ball and established a good foundation after winning super bowl XXXVII as a defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Anthony Lynn and Brian Flores do not boast super bowl titles like Mike Tomlin, yet one of them comes from an uncommon but similar background and the other from the offensive side of the ball. Lynn was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017 after spending a portion of his career as a running backs coach predominantly under the tutelage of Rex Ryan. He also served as the Buffalo Bills interim head coach in 2016 after Ryan’s dismissal. The hiring of a head coach with an offensive background is quite common given the scale  of coaching foundations around the league. Over eighteen head coaches in the NFL have an offensive coaching background. Brian Flores on the other hand has a defensive background and began his coaching career in various positions with the New England Patriots. He now sits in a unique position being with the only franchise that has both an African American general manager and head coach.

The opportunities for other minority candidates to become head coaches are very limited even with the implementation of the Rooney Rule. A league wide policy that mandates organizations to interview at least one minority candidate in the case of a head coaching vacancy, has not yielded much change in diversity across the National Football League. There has been a skewed selection of head coaching candidates in the last three years. Of the recent hires, fourteen head coaches came from the offensive side of the ball and only seven came from the defensive side of the ball. This trend highlights an even bigger problem when it comes to inclusion across the coaching staff. There is a staggering misrepresentation of African American offensive coordinators throughout the entire NFL and the number of defensive coordinators still has room for improvement.

There are six African American defensive coordinators currently in the NFL, with those individuals being Leslie Frazier (Buffalo Bills), newly hired Joe Woods (Cleveland Browns), Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons), Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Vance Joseph (Arizona Cardinals), and Andre Patterson who is the co-defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. Common perspectives among diversity within the NFL include a general consensus that most African American coaching candidates become defensive coordinators. Although it may be viewed as an opportunity, it is a hire generally with a glass ceiling and that those individuals haven’t been provided opportunities for growth. The NFL has transitioned to a hyper focus on offensive production and there are currently over eighteen head coaches with an offensive background. Media personnel have recognized this change as well, as they discuss the importance of being an offensive mastermind to increase your chances of becoming the next big hire. The overlying issue when it comes to minority candidates becoming head coaches, is that it’s drastically skewed toward white offensive coordinators.

Disappointingly there are only two African American offensive coordinators in the NFL. The most known of the rare duo is Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who helped the team win Super Bowl LIV. Bieniemy was promoted in 2018 after serving as the running backs coach, and that year the Chiefs had the league’s highest scoring offense. The second coach who gets seemingly no spotlight is Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Bryon Leftwich. Many recognize Leftwich from his playing days with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He eventually took his 9 seasons of quarterback experience and began coaching quarterbacks with the Arizona Cardinals in 2017. In his first season, he helped Jameis Winston lead the NFL with over 5,100 passing yards. Throughout the year, Letfwich never received much media attention but the inclusive impact of his role is significant for potential changes in the future.

The NFL is constantly changing and the importance of having a dynamic offense is increasing. Coaches with creative offensive schemes are now more likely to be given head coaching opportunities compared to veteran coaches on the market or defensive minded candidates. Based on the lack of African American offensive coordinators, the likelihood of seeing more black head coaches in the NFL is less likely. This emphasizes the significance of a franchise’s ability to develop young minority coaches on the offensive side of the ball. It is very important to establish a growth plan for African American coaches to become offensive coordinators in order to promote the diversity of head coaches across the NFL.

The Cleveland Browns are an organization that are taking steps forward to put a contingency plan in place. First time head coach Kevin Stefanski has constantly reiterated the importance of diversity and inclusion within the organization. During a press conference earlier this year, he spoke on the importance developing African American coaches to become coordinators “especially on the offensive side of the ball”. As Stefanski built his staff, he developed a diverse foundation of race, perspectives and genders. A simple decision such as retaining running backs coach Stump Mitchell plays a huge role in the demographic representation of his roster within the coaching staff. Stefanski has also supported his proposal of developing young coaches within the franchise by giving multiple people their first NFL coaching jobs.

A staff hire such as Brandon Lynch, who will serve as an assistant defensive backs coach was given his first NFL coaching gig. Lynch also has connections with Stefanski after serving as a Bill Walsh minority intern with the Minnesota Vikings in 2013. It shows another contextual situation where Stefanski has used his prior connections to promote an African American candidate similar to selecting Joe Woods to be the Browns defensive coordinator. Another first-time coaching hire includes Jeremy Garrett who will be an assistant defensive line coach. Yet, the two most important hires in my book are Stephen Bravo-Brown to be a defensive quality control coach and Seitu Smith as an offensive quality control coach.

The quality control positions are amazing opportunities to grow as a coach and Stefanski refers to it as the “breeding ground for coaches”. Stephen Bravo-Brown was awarded his first NFL coaching job and he also has prior connections to Stefanski after also serving as a Bill Walsh minority intern in 2017. Bravo-Brown comes in from a unique situation where he previously coached wide receivers and moves to the defensive coaching rooms. It is a great opportunity for him to build his trove of knowledge and experience both sides of the ball. Seitu Smith also joins the organization in his first NFL job from a unique situation as well because of his ties to a recent hire of Stefanski. Smith was the Director of Player Personnel at Dartmouth and worked alongside the Browns new female Chief of Staff Callie Brownson. Seitu Smith was spoken highly of by Kevin Stefanski and highlighted his work ethic.

The new opportunities Kevin Stefanski has created for young African American coaches is a step in the right direction for promoting the growth of minority candidates. Stefanski and Andrew Berry both have philosophical beliefs which encourage a diversity of perspectives and inclusion across the board. Cleveland for a long time has been an organization that never shied away from minority candidates and are in the process of building a winning formula. If the franchise is able to perform on Sunday’s and establish a winning culture, it could potentially setup these same coaches for coordinator roles and front office positions for other organizations. The National Football League still has a humungous hill to climb in addressing their diversity issues, but the Cleveland Browns can hold their chin high for developing the conversation in a positive tone.