While the top teams in the NFL are getting ready to chase the Vince Lombardi trophy, the teams on the bottom are getting ready to re-tool.
The Falcons, who fired their general manager and coach Oct. 11, are in the group of teams hitting the reset button in a different hiring atmosphere than in years past.
Rod Graves, a former league executive and current executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, has consulted with all of the teams — the Falcons, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville and Carolina — with openings. The Fritz Pollard Alliance advocates for diversity and inclusion in the hiring practices of NFL teams.
“I’ve been impressed with the level of interest in the candidates that appear on our lists,” Graves told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a phone interview recently. “The clubs are doing a thorough job. It’s more than going through the motions. I believe this is probably the most thorough examination of the candidates that we’ve seen in some time when it comes to people of color.”
The Global Sport Institute at Arizona State recently completed an NFL field study that examined hiring trends at the highest levels over the past 10 years.
The study noted that there were five head coaches of color and 27 white coaches in 2009, and there were four coaches of color and 28 white coaches in 2019.
The average number of coaches of color in the NFL per year was 2.23 before 2003 and has increased to 3.76 since 2003.
Since 2009, nearly 40% of head coaches hired were former offensive coordinators, and at least 77% of those offensive coordinators each season were white. About 29% of the head coaches hired had previous head coaching experience.
Fritz Pollard was the NFL’s first Black head coach in 1921.
After the previous hiring cycle, the Fritz Pollard Alliance called the league’s hiring record “shameful” and “abysmal.” The NFL has concurred and has taken steps to improve the situation.
“There are a number of candidates that people would certainly suspect would be at the top of our lists,” Graves said. “Many of them have been general managers before. People like Jerry Reese, Rick Smith, who was at Houston. Obviously, Jerry with the New York Giants. Ray Farmer who is right in Atlanta’s backyard. He’s been in Cleveland, but there are numerous other guys that are with clubs who are doing a tremendous job.”
Smith has interviewed with the Falcons (on Dec. 18) and the Jaguars. He worked for years on the competition committee with Falcons president Rich McKay.
“Atlanta is doing their due diligence, from what I have ascertained, to go through the list of candidates thoroughly,” Graves said. “I anticipate that they will engage with quite a few in some form of an interview. I feel that the chances of an outcome of an African-American is higher than it’s been in some time.”
The Fritz Pollard Alliance tries to help teams identify candidates at all levels.
“I’d say the pipeline of talent is in better shape than it’s ever been,” Graves said. “We’ve obviously have guys that have a number of buckets of experience in any stage. I believe anyone of these guys are willing to step in and perform and would do a great job.”
Other former Black general managers include Miami executive Reggie McKenzie and San Francisco’s Martin Mayhew. Also, Will Lewis was a high ranking official with the Packers, Seattle and Kansas City for 20 seasons.
McKenzie was a finalist for the Falcons’ general manager job in 2008, before the team selected Thomas Dimitroff. He went on to become Oakland’s general manager.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
“You’ve got that level of guys that have been in the chair,” Graves said. “There are a number of guys out there who have served as general managers who I believe I deserve an opportunity on their own merits if given a chance to lead a club again.”
There are several veteran Black personnel men around the league, working away from the limelight of the TV network’s cameras.
“You have people like Will McClay in Dallas,” Graves said. “You’ve got Morocco Brown in Indianapolis, a long list of guys who have been around and put in tremendous amount of time.”
Younger executives like New Orleans’ Terry Fontenot, Buffalo’s Malik Boyd and the L.A. Rams’ Brad Holmes are candidates. The Falcons will need permission from their teams to interview them.
“You’ve got that rising breed of executive who are well-deserving and have done a tremendous job,” Graves said. “I could down a long list of guys that are ready.”
In addition to Smith, the Falcons interviewed Anthony Robinson, the team’s well-respected director of college scouting. He worked his way up from being a scouting intern with the Ravens after he convinced Baltimore executive Eric DeCosta to give him an opportunity.
“I think Atlanta is in great shape,” Graves said. “They have spent this time really diligently going through all of the candidates and trying to decide which ones fits the best leadership structure that I think Rich McKay has in mind.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Graves and McKay said the candidates will determine the structure of the Falcons moving forward. They may move away from the co-team builder approach they had under Dan Quinn and Dimitroff and revert back to a more traditional approach with a powerful general manager.
The Falcons were fighting off three teams to get Quinn and gave the first-time coach control of the 53-man roster.
“There is flexibility there,” Graves said. “I would imagine that there will be especially in Atlanta’s case. If they get the right person leading that organization, they will work with the structure that that person prefers. But Rich has had a tremendous amount of success. I think he knows what works best for the Falcons. So, given that structure that he’s been accustom to, I think he can find the right candidate.”
The notion of head coaches controlling more on the personnel side and serving a quasi-general managers started in the 1990s when Bill Parcells made his statement about “shopping for the groceries” before Super Bowl XXXII.
“The head coach and what he’s capable of doing and what he demands as his level of authority,” Graves said. “Sometimes you’ve got to work with that. Sometimes when you have experienced guys like the ones we’ve mentioned, you don’t necessarily have to accept that. You can come in and be more demanding about your leadership structure. It really depends on the people and the experience they bring to the table.”
Graves believes the teams around the league are more open to diversity and inclusion after the last hiring cycle. The league’s programs were put in motion before international protests started after the George Floyd killing this summer.
“Well, I’m extremely hopeful that we’ll come out of this with a net positive affect and an increase unlike we’ve seen in past years,” Graves said. “We could have a plus three or four jobs or maybe even more. When I say that, I mean in each category, both general manager and head coach. We’ll see, but I do appreciate that the league has been focused on this as an issue.”
Graves was with Arizona from 1997 to 2012 and was the general manager from 2002-12. He also worked with the Philadelphia Stars (USFL), Chicago Bears, New York Jets and at the NFL league office.
His father, the late Jackie Graves, was a scout for the Eagles in the 1960s and never had any upward mobility.
“The teams are seemingly doing a much better job of going through the list of candidates and studying and preparing themselves for making a much more informed decision,” Graves said. “That’s the most we can ask for. But I think what we’ll discover through this process if there is an actual commitment from the owners to embrace diversity as being good for the game.”
If teams use the excuse that they couldn’t find any qualified candidates, Graves will know that didn’t look very far.
“We certainly do not have a pipeline issue,” Graves said. “It’s a rather broad list, and it’s intentional that it be that way because I want people to understand that there is a much wider range of talent out there that goes beyond what we normally see in the media.
“We’ve got some guys who have devoted their careers to doing an excellent job, who deserved to be mentioned and talked about. That’s the purpose of the broader list.”
Falcons’ 2021 draft position
1. Jacksonville
2. New York Jets
3. Cincinnati
4. Carolina
5. Falcons
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