Josh McCown CLEVELAND, OH – NOVEMBER 30: Josh McCown #13 of the Cleveland Browns throws a pass during the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 30, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
NFLBy Sean Keeley on

There aren’t many days where it’s a good idea to offer up a story about how Josh McCown deserves to be an NFL coach, but posting it the day after a Washington Post expose on how impossible it can be for Black coaches to become NFL head coaches is perhaps the worst possible time.

If not for the Brian Flores lawsuit, McCown would likely be the head coach of the Houston Texans right now. The Texans had just fired David Culley, a Black coach, after one season. Even though McCown had never served as a coach in the NFL or college, the Texans were reportedly deadset on hiring the former NFL quarterback who was said to be close with the franchise’s front staff.

However, the optics of hiring a completely untested white coach after firing a Black coach following one season were, at best, terrible. Not to mention that the NFL was catching heat for the lack of minority head coaches despite the many qualified candidates out there. So the Texans blinked and elevated Lovie Smith as their head coach.

However, there were plenty of people out there who saw it as a placeholder move until the smoke clears and the Texans could hire McCown in a few years anyway.

Thursday, The Athletic’s Dan Pompei posted an article about McCown and how, actually, despite being unproven and untested in any meaningful way, he deserves the shot.

While it makes sense that someone like McCown would make their way into coaching as so many quarterbacks before he has, the fact that McCown has yet to work on any NFL or college football staff would seemingly disqualify him for the time being (it most certainly would if he were Black).

The gist of the article is that because McCown spent so much time in the NFL around so many great players and coaches, and is really well-liked, that makes him qualified. Right or wrong, the sentiment didn’t seem to inspire much faith in NFL circles on social media.

https://twitter.com/A_G_Haubner/status/1573029677299470336

[The Athletic]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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