He forgot where he came from and who he is. He hopes the loss from Mike Tomin helped him remember. It was a much-needed victory for the Black & Gold as they snapped a four-game losing streak as they were 10-point favorites. Sunday was a must-win for a coach trying to make sure his 16th season isn't a losing one, as he was the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl. The game was karma. The only scheduled meeting of Black coaches when the season started was scheduled for days before the game. Matt Rhule was fired as the coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. The two of them have a good relationship. When we are coaching against each other, we just know each other. I have a lot of good white friends that coach in this league, and I don't think it's a big deal, I think it's normal. Hopefully Steve will do a good job. We don't look at color. One of the most out-of-touch things a black man connected to football has ever said is that of Herschel Walker. Everyone else will follow suit if you stop making a big deal about it.
A white female reporter was the one that the media was talking about.
It is because you have chosen to ignore what has been going on that you are thinking, "What was so bad about what Bowles said?" He is an assistant with the team.
If you don't know, he started his career as an assistant coach at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and then went on to become a head coach in the National Football League. One of the few Black men that have had that honor, was eventually run out of New York because fans and pundits thought he "sucked." The only winning seasons for the Jets have been produced by Rex Ryan and Todd Bowles. It was due to Bowles being championed by one of the few white coaches in the league who kept a diverse staff that he was promoted to head coach of the Bolts.
The conversation about Black coaches in the NFL is a big deal because of it. He didn't think his current position was possible at one point, but he thinks "all coaches matter."
I didn't think I could be a head coach until I got to Dallas under Bill Parcells. Only 26 Black men have served as head coaches in the history of the National Football League.
He didn't believe he could be a head coach. I didn't try to be but I didn't try not to be. I wanted to be the best coach.
It was strange that a regular-season game between the two teams became a case study about Black coaches in the league. We have someone who threw Flores a lifeline, but who didn't have an answer for why Eric Bieniemy didn't bring Colin Kaepernick in for a workout despite having a thin quarterback room.
Given his resume, the way he has been treated, and the atmosphere he is currently working in, he should be one of the loudest voices in the room when it comes to diversity.
It could have been a lot more than a thrilling win for the Steelers. It was a missed opportunity for two of the four black coaches in the league to add context to one of the biggest ongoing stories in America.
There is still a chance that it could happen. The Carolinas will be the site of the game this Sunday. This is the second week in a row that Bowles will see a black coach across from him. Maybe Steve Wilks will be able to teach Todd Bowles how to remember what they went through to get here.
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