Black head coaches have always been a pretty tiny minority within the NFL since the inception of the Super Bowl. The first big game was won by a white head coach, Vince Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers. And the second Super Bowl was also won by the same head coach who gave the postseason trophy its name.
In 2021 a black head coach was fired by the Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores, who was the second black and hispanic head coach in the league. After two winning seasons he was fired and that was pointed out as an anti-minority act in the NFL by some media outlets.
But regardless, black head coaches are outperforming season after season and it is likely that more African American head coaches will be hired by NFL teams in the next 10 years.
Which black head coaches have won the Super Bowl?
Tony Dungy was the first NFL black head coach to win a Super Bowl, he won with the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007 against the Chicago Bears in what was an epic moment for the NFL when two black head coaches were in a Super bowl.
Mike Tomlin has two Super Bowl rings , but one of those rings was as a head coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009 when they beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 . Also, that was Ben Roethlisberger’s second super bowl ring.
How many black head coaches are there in the NFL in 2022?
There are currently 2 African American head coaches in the NFL, one is Mike Tomlin with the Pittsburgh Steelers who joined that franchise more than a decade ago and the second black head coach is Lovie Smith with the Houston Texans in what will be his third team in the NFL.