How Many Black Head Coaches In The NFL All Time?

The NFL has a long and complicated history when it comes to race. Here’s a look at how many black head coaches there have been in the NFL all time.

all time

All-time, there have been 13 black head coaches in the NFL. This includes men like Art Shell, Dennis Green, and Tony Dungy. The number of black head coaches has been on the rise in recent years with men like Hue Jackson, Marvin Lewis, and Mike Tomlin leading their teams.

year by year

Year by year, the number of black head coaches in the NFL has increased steadily. In 2020, there are eight black head coaches, up from six in 2019 and three in 2018. This is the highest number of black head coaches in the NFL all time.

The eight black head coaches in 2020 are:
-Anthony Lynn, Los Angeles Chargers
-Brian Flores, Miami Dolphins
-Kubis Smith, New York Jets
-Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers
-Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
-Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
-David Culley, Houston Texans
– Marvin Lewis, Dallas Cowboys

This year also marks the first time that two black head coaches (Brian Flores and David Culley) are leading teams in the AFC East division.

black head coaches

The number of black head coaches in the NFL has grown over the years, but there are still only a handful of them. In 2020, there are only four black head coaches out of 32 teams. This number is still low, but it is a significant increase from the past.

by team

Arizona Cardinals – 1
Atlanta Falcons – 0
Baltimore Ravens – 2
Buffalo Bills – 1
Carolina Panthers – 1
Chicago Bears – 2
Cincinnati Bengals – 0
Cleveland Browns – 1
Dallas Cowboys – 0
Denver Broncos – 2
Detroit Lions – 2
Green Bay Packers – 0
Houston Texans – 2
Indianapolis Colts – 3
Jacksonville Jaguars – 1
Kansas City Chiefs – 3
Los Angeles Chargers – 1
Los Angeles Rams – 1
Miami Dolphins – 3
Minnesota Vikings – 2
New England Patriots – 0 New Orleans Saints – 1 New York Giants – 1 New York Jets – 0 Philadelphia Eagles – 2 Pittsburgh Steelers-1 San Francisco-1 Seattle Seahawks-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers-2 Tennessee Titans–1 Washington Redskins–2

by conference

In the history of the NFL, there have been only 8 black head coaches.
-Raymond “Buddy” Ryan was the first black coach in NFL history, hired by the Chicago Bears in 1978. He spent two seasons with the team.
-Art Shell was the first African American head coach of the modern era, hired by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1989. He spent two seasons with the team.
– Dennis Green was hired by the Minnesota Vikings in 1992, becoming one of only two black head coaches in NFL history at that time. He coached for 10 seasons with the Vikings.
-Tony Dungy was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996, becoming only the third black head coach in NFL history. He coached for six seasons with the Buccaneers before being hired by the Indianapolis Colts in 2002.
– Lovie Smith was hired by the Chicago Bears in 2004, becoming only the fourth black head coach in NFL history. He coached for nine seasons with the team.
– Jim Caldwell was hired by Indianapolis Colts in 2009 and became fifth black coach
– Leslie Frazier was hired 2010 by Minnesota Vikings Frazier is 6th one
Mike Tomlin is seventh African American to hold an NFL head coaching position when he was Pittsburgh Steelers

NFL

As of the 2019 NFL season, there have been eight black head coaches in the NFL. In the history of the NFL, there have been 16 black head coaches. The first black head coach in the NFL was Fritz Pollard, who coached the Akron Pros in 1921.

history

In the history of the NFL, there have been 14 black head coaches. The first was Fritz Pollard, who coached the Akron Pros in 1921. Pollard also played running back and was one of the first black players in the league. Other notable black head coaches include Art Shell, who coached the Los Angeles Raiders to a Super Bowl victory in 1988, and Tony Dungy, who led the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl win in 2007. In 2020, there are three black head coaches in the NFL: Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Anthony Lynn of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Brian Flores of the Miami Dolphins.

current state

In the NFL today, there are only four black head coaches. They are:

-Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers
-Anthony Lynn of the Los Angeles Chargers
-Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers
-Brian Flores of the Miami Dolphins