Brian Flores' lawsuit reflects widespread discontent among Black coaches over NFL hiring practices

The National Football League (NFL) has a history of discriminatory hiring practices towards Black head coaches. Despite Fritz Pollard breaking the coaching color barrier in 1921, Art Shell was the second Black man to lead a team, 68 years later. As of 2022, in the league's 102nd season, 13 franchises had never hired a Black non-interim head coach, and 11 others had only hired one. In other words, three-quarters of the league's 32 franchises had employed one or zero Black head coaches entering this hiring cycle.

Last week, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores sued the NFL and three of its teams for alleged racist hiring practices by the league and racial discrimination by the Dolphins, Broncos, and Giants. The NFL had only one Black head coach entering this hiring cycle, and six of the first nine vacancies this year went to white men. The Texans hired Lovie Smith, a Black man, and the Dolphins appointed Mike McDaniel, who is multi-racial, but these hirings came the week after Flores' lawsuit.

Goodell acknowledged that only five of the last 36 head coach openings have gone to Black men, which he called an "unacceptable" reality. Despite a league statement saying that Flores' claims were "without merit," Goodell is interested in listening to Flores and understanding what he and other coaches are going through, instead of focusing on the legal process.