Can someone cut and paste Selena Roberts column today...

Belichick played hardball in Cleveland, too. Probably played it coming out of the womb.

 

That's a patronizing view of both white and black; White coaches can't relate to black players & white players can't be athletic. John Elway was every single bit an athlete as Michael Vick, actually a better athlete & more talented, but you won't hear that. Parcells can relate to todays athletes ina way that Dennis Greene and Art Shell can only dream about.

 

That's my point, exactly. TV Broadcasters have been pushing those stereotypes for years. Hell, we see it on the news side every time a white woman or girl goes missing they're the top news story on every 24-hour news network. Not the same if a black woman or girl goes missing. That's why it's necessary for the rest of us to take them to task for it. That's why I praise the Roberts column for pointing it out. Not only that, but she supported her thesis with athletes who also notice the distortion. Hopefully, TV will take notice and correct itself.

 

When has Parcells ever had the reputation as an X's and O's genius?

Parcells actually has much more of a reputation as a motivator, which Roberts says is a characteristic projected on black head coaches.

Lovie Smith, it seems to me, gets plenty of credit for the Bears' defensive success.

The Peyton Manning vs. Bill Bellichick example doesn't hold water, either. If Tom Moore were black, then it would make sense. But Moore is white, and Dungy is a defensive coach.



And when Roberts was detailing the drone-like coaches Bellichick has introduced to the league ("a disingenuous Nick Saban and an impassive Eric Mangini), she neglected to mention that Bellichick also delivered Romeo Crennel, who happens to be a black head coach.

 

Jeez, dude, just do an internet search for the words Bill Parcells and genius. It's not just Dallas bloggers either.

Len Pasquerelli: Make no mistake, Bill Parcells is the best coach these eyes have witnessed in 23 years covering the NFL, a superior strategist and uncanny amateur psychologist. Having served as pool reporter for his New England Patriots team in Super Bowl XXXI, observing close-up Parcells' attention to football minutiae and the meticulous pursuit of excellence that he commanded from his charges, this columnist concluded long ago Parcells was a genius of preparation.

Moore gets tagged a genius all the time. Not Dungy.

Personally, I think the genius tag gets tossed around too much in football, but it never is applied toward a black coach.

 

Until last night, Dungy had appeared in the playoffs during least 9 different seasons without getting out of the conference championship, it might not take a genius to get to the Super Bowl, but a genius certainly would have found a way. For my money, despite last night's loss, Bellichek is the only candidate for head coaching genius in the NFL.

 

Typical Selena. Floruishes of great writing with logic twisted to fit a story that exists only in her head.

 

Belichick-Parcells-Weis-Saban-Mangini think they invented football. They condescend everybody they come into contact with. They think football should be played in a hermetically sealed bubble. No fans. No media. Just them and their chess board. They consider themselves intellectually superior savants.

It's terrific to see the Tony Dungys and Pete Carrolls of the world succeed. You know it just eats at those guys.

Lovie Smith is a bit of an information control freak, though it doesn't fit the ready-made storyline for the week, so you probably won't hear about it. On the other hand, he's able to be a little more diplomatic about it than Belichick, Saban and their ilk.

 

Please don't forget the personable Al Groh.

 

At some point, the perceptions of people who don't know what going on need to be disregarded. There are some people out there who will never give minority coaches any credit, but I hardly think it's fair to project that onto the league/media/fans as a whole.

Few people who follow the NFL seriously wouldn't credit Dungy and Smith for their tremendous defensive acumen. I've heard countless broadcasters praise Smith and Rivera, both minorities, for their work with the Bears' defense. And my goodness, when was the last time anyone took Dungy to task in general terms? A proven winner and such a nice man.

I'd argue that the NFL has gotten "past" the black-coach issue. They are plentiful, often successful, and well-regarded.

There are plenty of other issues, though...namely the good guy vs. athlete dichotomy in which Chris Henry or Tank Johnson are involved in a number of accused or actual crimes, and it's written off and more or less accepted as part of the package...and at the same time "character guys" are praised as if they're accomplishing something special and difficult.

I'd argue that a league and a fanbase and, to an extent, a media that tolerate blatant lawlessness is much more of a moral conundrum than whether or not every single talking head will make sure on Super Bowl Sunday not to praise Smith or Dungy for being good motivators.

 

Just a point of fact: Art Shell coached the Raiders to a 12-4 season in 1990. They reached the AFC Championship game, but were waxed by the Bills, 51-3.