Arkansas Blog

Perhaps the columnist should interview Nolan Richardson in re the white-boy network that runs the corrupt entertainment industry known as college sports.

Sounds like a whiner to me. Maybe he just doesn't have the skill test for the head job, plays the race card to divert attention from the problem. Coach spouses have never been on my radar. I remember Rose and Barbara fondly, felt sorry and embarrassed for HDN's wife, don't have a clue about the current crop.

Of course there is racism, Charlie Strong is one of the best young coaches in America yet someone like Gene Chipzik gets a shot at Auburn before him?

What Charles Barkley said was spot on...yes there are schools willing to hire a black head coach, but too often they are the lower tier programs like Miss. State and Buffalo, places that are hard to win for any coach. The top tier programs consistently pass on hiring black head coaches. And its a shame, Strong believes he is a particularly uncomfortable situation because his wife is white.

There is no easy remedy that would help...

It just an example of the lingering racism that is out there just below the surface, nobody is actively working against balck coaches in America...but America just does not see them as marketable.

Just look at the pornographically awful job Fox did of announcing that Football game last night. They could not stop themselves from falling all over each other to praise the savior demigod that is Tim Tebow. It was all they talked about like they both had a high school crush on the kid.

Wonder why? He is white, he is a Christian, I guess he is a virgin, and he is without sin according to the Fox announcers and that makes for the perfect marketable human being to the fat ass white masses who still buy the majority of shit in America.

Only problem is Tim Tebow played a pretty shitty game.

Meanwhile Charlie Strong's defense was the difference in the game and offensively for Florida a black player named Percy Harvin made every key play, accounted for over 180 yds running and receiving and does it all on a busted ankle...yet I never heard even slight praise for him.

It was like the big White Christian boy was the only player on the field.

It was beyond absurd.

But I do expect Charlie Strong to land a head coaching job very soon. And BIg 12 team would be crazy not to hire him, if for no other reason he could show them how to play defense.

PVNasby,

You are a moron.

You were embarrassed for HDN's wife? WHy because she had the bad judgement to marry that clown?

How to you wonder through this world so naively?

PV, you sound like somebody who didn't read the linked piece. The FL columnist points out that 7 of 120 college coaches are black while 7 of 32 NFL coaches are black. That's racism on the part of colleges.

Romano also says that Strong talked about this "...he did so with great reluctance..." would put the lie to your notion that he was whining. I'd say someone pulled it out of him.

"...has been a part of five SEC titles; has reached the national championship game twice in the past three seasons; and is well-regarded throughout the sport." And I'd bet that none of those title teams were slackers on the D-side, puts the lie to your guess about his 'skill test' (WTF is that, could you possibly mean skill set?).

I assume the ability to "appear fair skinned" is one of the "skill sets" PVnasby was talking about

I actually just read the editorial and it was absolutely spot on...the guy has been the best DC in the SEC for the last 5 years and no one has opened the door for him as a Head Coach. Yet a clown like Bo Pellini gets the Nebraska job after a year? with LSU???

If Texas A&M had any gd sense, which of course they do not (also see Gorge Bush library, gig em, pseudo military gaydom, and typical conservative dipshit students) they would fire Mike Sherman and hire Charlie Strong tomorrow.

Please provide a statistical comparison of offensive coordinators versus defensive coordinators. Former Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis (white) has wanted to be a head coach for a long time too. There's a lot of luck involved in becoming a head coach. I would bet that defensive coaches have a lot harder time getting head coach positions than offensive coaches. While defense may win ball games, high powered offenses get fans in the stands. Certainly Charlie Strong deserves to be a head coach some day. However, the sympathetic columnist fails to mention that Dan Mullen has been with Urban Meyer since his days at Utah, and has a long history of success when he compares Mullen's success versus Strong's.

From wikipedia: "Prior to his hiring at Mississippi State, Mullen served as offensive coordinator at the University of Florida and was also alongside Urban Meyer at Utah, where he was quarterback coach of the Utes during their undefeated 2004 season. He developed quarterback Alex Smith into the number 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. After Mike Sanford left to take the head coaching position at UNLV, Mullen served as the interim offensive coordinator during Utah's Fiesta Bowl victory over Pitt. During his tenure at Utah, he also recruited and partially developed Brian Johnson, QB who led Utah to 13-0 and Sugar Bowl victory in 2009. [3] He also served as quarterback coach under Meyer at Bowling Green in 2001-02.

As a coach, Mullen has tutored several notable players, including quarterbacks Alex Smith (Utah), Josh Harris (Bowling Green), Chris Leak (Florida) and Heisman Trophy-winner Tim Tebow (Florida)."

Regarding the job at Auburn, I wouldn't wish that on Charlie Strong. Charlie Strong should be very careful in playing the race card. No school wants a "Nolan Richardson time bomb and lawsuit." The key to getting a head coaching job likely has more to do with getting Jimmy Sexton as his agent. If Jimmy Sexton can get Fat Phil Fulmer and Houston Nutt over $2 million a year, he can get anyone a job.

We (and I include myself) have a tendency to react from an emotional place when the subjet is race.

Here, I think we have to listen/read very carefully: Charlie Strong and Turner Gill (Univerity of Buffalo) have a very *specific* "race" problem -- they are married to white women. I think the issue being raised is more complex than "they won't hire me because I'm black."

As always, the subject of race is complex and touchy, full of shades of grey. The question is whether the very same boosters who wouldn't bat an eye at, say, Sylvester Croom (had he been a successful coach at Mississippi State) and indeed might even embrace him, get a queasy, vaguely negative feeling when Gill or Strong walk in the booster meeting or social event hand-in-hand with a blonde.

I don't know. But I know this: It is a very specific issue, not given to superficial analysis.

Poor Charlie Strong.
He's only going to make $390,000 at Florida this year.
He's the highest paid assistant coach in the country and makes more than about half of the coaches in Division I and he doesn't have to worry about a lunatic fringe fanbase FOIing his cellphone or calling on him to be fired every time he losses a game.
Rough life for Strong.
And never mind the reportedly horrible interviewing skills that were put on display when he went for the UCA job about a decade ago.
Sometimes it isn't about race. Maybe he just isn't qualified to do the other parts of a head coaching gig, such as hobnobbing with boosters and the teevee shows and the constant media demands.

Oh come on. There are plenty of assistant coaches who don't get offers for the top job.

His complaint reminds me of why I didn't get recruited to become the new president of WalMart. I shopped at Target once in 1996.

Maybe big shot boosters and the small-town high school football coaches who influence recruits all across the South have warm and toasty feelings toward interracial marriage, or are at least neutral about it. Shoot, maybe they wouldn't mind one of their daughters being married to a black man if he could bring State U a national title.

Maybe athletic directors are completely confident about these warm and toasty/neutral feelings held by boosters and coaches. Maybe the ADs are willing to stake their jobs on it.

In that case, Strong's point isn't even worth talking about.

...and Strong's point, I think, is that if he were married to a black woman, he'd be a head coach by now.

Oh damn! Is tomorrow's Full (Perigee) Moon really kicking in!

.

Does he think he's the Jackie Robinson of black athletes with white wives?

My other theory is that she is so homely that he is ashamed to take her out much. Otherwise he would have noticed that it's been done before and nobody really cares.

My last theory is that he uttered those words in moment of frustration to a weasly sports reporter and should be given the benefit of the doubt.

does anyone know if there are any white head coaches married to black wives? I would guess probably not.

HDN's wife also showed some pretty juvenile bad judgment in my opinion when she joined the Email free-for-all about the Springdale Mafia. Very, very rarely is anyone going to ask for the coach's wife's opinion, and she shouldn't have lowered herself to that junior high school mentality anyway. In my opinion only again of course. ;)

eLwood, what's a Perigee moon? Yes, I know I could look it up, but Im supposed to be working and so we can see I am far too busy to do that when you could splain it to me. I think it's something that should make us all thankful we don't work in a busy ER tonight, for one thing.

I think that this calls for quotas for all coaching positions in America. Identify the target percentage of black coaches based upon the national market of coaches and the next time a head coaching position becomes vacant hire according to the quota.

Of course, Diana Nutt might be considered a less-than-positive part of the Houston Nutt package because of her documented conduct.

The wives of Charlie Strong and Turner Gill are, seemingly, a negative part of their packages because of . . . .