Why did Mike Tomlin start hiring black coaches after 15 years?

Brian Flores

… hiring Flores probably rankled Goodell

To place this into context, understand that the only reason that the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin 15 years ago is because he was black. 

Why? He had never even been a coordinator anywhere, never in the NFL. The only reason that he was interviewed was because of the “Rooney Rule.”

That rule is one named after the late Dan Rooney who led the effort to force every NFL team to interview at least one black coach when it had head coaching openings. 

The Steelers had focused their coaching search after Bill Cowher left on Ron Rivera, then a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Their interview with Tomlin was a peremptory one, something to satisfy the smell test. 

After all, why interview a guy who was just a defensive coach? Coordinators are the people who are hired for the big gig. 

Tomlin, though, is a great talker, and he wooed Dan Rooney so much that he was hired for the position. 

Which begs the question: Why after all of that has he never hired a black coach to be either an offensive or defensive coordinator?

A good question, and people are asking and trying to answer that today after he hired former Dolphins Coach Brian Flores yesterday. 

Needed help on defense

Tomlin has struggled with his coordinator positions. In fact, his recent hires have been fired more quickly than any in the NFL — though I do not have actual mathematical evidence of that,

Why did the Steelers hire Brian Flores?

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin praised Flores' defensive acumen in the team's statement announcing the latter's hire:

"I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL," Tomlin said. "Brian's resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team."

The Steelers likely saw Flores could address an area of need within the Steelers defense: That unit in 2021 ranked 24th in the league in total defense (361.1 yards per game); 32nd in rush defense (146.1 yards per game); and 20th in scoring defense (23.4 points per game). Pittsburgh had a relatively strong pass defense, ranking ninth in the league by surrendering 215.1 yards per game through the air.

Zac Al-Khateeb, “Why did the Steelers hire Brian Flores?”                                                      The Sporting News, February 19, 2022

In short, the Steelers needed defensive help. Actually, they needed offensive help too, but he chose to stick with his maligned OC, Matt Canada, who had never been a coordinator either before being hired last year. 

Flores’ suit

Frankly, I am surprised at the hire. I figured that the NFL would blackball Flores, but Tomlin changed that narrative,

Pittsburgh's hiring of Flores comes weeks after the coach filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and its teams. The suit alleges the league and its teams engage in disingenuous hiring practices, merely going through the motions of interviewing Black and other minority candidates to satisfy the requirements of the league's Rooney Rule before settling on white candidates.

Part of Flores' suit also alleges he was mistreated at the hands of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, adding that he would not have faced if he weren't Black. Flores led the Dolphins to a 24-25 record in three seasons, a mark that is skewed because of a 5-11 season in 2019. He also claimed to have undergone a coaching interview with the Broncos in 2019 in which team executives — including John Elway — appeared hungover.

As part of his suit, Flores included a purported text message conversation between himself and his former coach, Bill Belichick — seemingly mistaking Flores for Bills coordinator Brian Daboll — in which Belichick congratulated Flores for landing the Giants head-coaching position. Flores had yet to interview for the job and underwent what he felt and described as a "sham interview."

Flores filed the suit while he was actively applying for NFL head coaching positions, including the Texans, Saints and Giants jobs. The league, as well as Dolphins, Broncos and Giants, have all released statements rebuking Flores' claims.

Zac Al-Khateeb, February 19, 2022

Tomlin did not help the black coaches situation

Before the NFL hired two coaches recently, Tomlin was the only black NFL coach. Why is he suddenly hiring black coaches, and finally a black coordinator, after not doing so for his first 14 years?

The Post-Gazette’s Ron Cook asked the Steeler coach last year why so few black coaches were being hired, and he ruminated on it today,

I asked Tomlin if he thought maybe he could do more to help the situation. He had not had a Black coordinator on his staff in his first 14 seasons with the Steelers. He had just interviewed Black coaches Hue Jackson and Pep Hamilton for his offensive coordinator’s job but ended up promoting quarterbacks coach Matt Canada.

“I always do what is best for our organization,” Tomlin said. “I believe in hiring from within in most cases …

“I’m highly sensitive to it, but I don’t regret [not having a Black coordinator]. I’ve had some good [Black] coaches leave for other jobs. Ray Horton. Scottie Montgomery went back to college. Kirby Wilson was hurt in that house fire.”

Ron Cook, “Mike Tomlin makes a statement with Brian Flores hire,”                                      Post-Gazette, February 19, 2022

That actually sounds like a cop-out from a guy who was admittedly an affirmative-action hire in the first place. The Steelers could have had more black assistants so that they could have been promoted from within the ranks. 

And why did the black coaches leave the NFL for college? Was it because they could not get along with the black head coach?

Tomlin finally hired a black coordinator, Teryl Austin, to be his defensive coordinator. He was promoted from within, and that precluded his hiring Flores as a coordinator. 

Defense could be much better

Flores is a very good coach. His firing surprised most people in the NFL because the Dolphins played particularly well in the latter part of the 2021 season and almost earned a playoff spot. 

The Miami defense improved significantly in the three years that he was the head coach. That could bode well for the Steelers and it could move Tomlin out of the defensive calling duties in which he had failed miserably last year.

However, Cook was blunt in that it appeared that Flores may have been on the verge of being blackballed,

It took some guts for Tomlin to hire Flores, who, after being fired as head coach by the Miami Dolphins Jan. 10, sued the NFL and three teams for racial discrimination. He also accused Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of offering him $100,000 for every loss in 2019 so the team could get a higher pick in the 2020 draft.

At the time of the class-action lawsuit, Flores acknowledged he might not coach again in the NFL despite being just 40 — he will be 41 on Thursday — and leading the Dolphins to their first back-to-back winning seasons since 2003. “God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals,” he said in a statement released by his law firm. “My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”

It was easy to imagine the NFL blackballing Flores just as it did San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick a few years earlier after Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to peacefully protest police brutality and racial injustice.

But Flores wasn’t out of work long. It’s not surprising Tomlin and the Steelers were the coach and team to hire him. This isn’t the first time Tomlin has made a controversial hire. He brought in quarterback Michael Vick in August 2015, after Steelers backup Bruce Gradkowski was injured in an exhibition game. Vick, a polarizing figure to say the least, had spent nearly two years in prison for his role in a dog-fighting ring. He led the Steelers to a Monday night win in San Diego later that season when Ben Roethlisberger was out with a knee injury.

“I always do what is best for our organization.”

Ron Cook, Post-Gazette, February 19, 2022

Irony: Fitzpatrick

Cook notes that the Steelers were able to pry away safety Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Dolphins — albeit for a first-round draft pick and more — because he did not get along with Flores. 

However, he agrees that the defense needs help,

I’m more concerned that Tomlin will allow Flores and Austin to fully do their thing with the Steelers’ defense. Tomlin had taken over calling the defensive signals from recently retired coordinator Keith Butler. The results were hardly impressive.

This past season, the Steelers had the worst run defense in the NFL. They gave up 41 points to the Los Angeles Chargers, 41 to Cincinnati, 36 to Minnesota, 36 to Kansas City and 42 to Kansas City in a playoff loss. Even worse, the Steelers haven’t won a postseason game in five years. They are 0-4 in their past four playoff games, allowing the 42 points to Kansas City, 48 to Cleveland, 45 to Jacksonville and 36 to New England.

Austin could do better.

Flores definitely will help.

Ron Cook, Post-Gazette, February 19, 2022

The lawsuit could become a distraction for the Steelers, but it is not going away. In the long-run, the hiring may be a good one.