Earlier today the Detroit Lions hired their first black coach, Jim Caldwell, who was the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, last season's Super Bowl champion.
John Wooten, the chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, thinks the hiring is well, transformational.
"This is meaningful,” "Wooten told the Detroit Free Press. "This is big for us. Detroit was, I almost had the same feeling that I had when I saw Virginia come in six years ago with President (Barack) Obama, had that same feeling when I heard Detroit was in with Jim Caldwell. This is huge for all of us."
Eleven years ago the Lions were fined $200,000 for not interviewing a minority candidate, even though five minority possibilities declined interviews for the head coaching job that went to Michigan native Steve Mariucci. They believed the hiring of the successful ex-San Francisco 49ers coach was inevitable.
With Caldwell's hiring, there are now five minority head coaches in the NFL. Eight years ago both Super Bowl teams, the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears, were led by black men. In 2011 there were eleven NFL teams with minority head coaches.
Caldwell's accession is not "huge" for whoever "all of us" happens to be. But he may end up being a great field marshal for the long-suffering Lions. Is he qualified? Certainly much more so than Obama was when he was elected.
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