NCAA prepares minority coordinators for head coaching jobs
Camera lighting made beads of sweat emerge from Tony Elliott’s forehead as he fielded questions ranging from football philosophy to something he could share about his private life.
The Clemson co-offensive coordinator paused, smiled and couldn’t hide his joy about riding an all-terrain vehicle through the woods. The walls broke down as Elliott made a human connection with mock interviewer Jon Oliver in the best possible preparation he can get for a head coaching job.
Despite helping the Tigers win a national title, Elliott has never interviewed for a head coaching job. “Two phone calls,” Elliott said.
College football as a public entity can’t institute a Rooney Rule like the NFL, which compels teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching jobs. So instead of focusing all its efforts on the schools, the NCAA is putting some of its rising coaching candidates through its Champion Forum to better prepare them for the interview process.
It is an effort to increase the diversity in the Power Five conferences and across the country.
“You can’t shame people into hiring people,” said Oliver, a former University of Virginia athletics administrator who now works with the Champion Forum. “You can’t tell (schools) what they need to be doing. But what we can do is make sure (the candidates) are ready.”
Minorities make up only 19 percent of Division I head football coaches and less across the Power Five conferences: the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12. In contrast, 61 percent of Division I players are minorities.
The Champion Forum has helped Penn State’s James Franklin, Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason, Stanford’s David Shaw, Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin and others get head jobs, with the aim of pushing along the next generation.