Saturdays in Athens: 08.08.20

The public perception of Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban is that he is a grizzly tyrant, an impossible to please taskmaster who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. I have no doubt that all of these traits are true. But you don’t get to the top of the coaching tree without doing it your own and single minded way.

But there is another side to Coach Saban. A more personal side, of which there were two prime examples this week.

The first of these was news that the Sabans made a donation to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Fundraising drive which was set up to keep Museum and Space Camp open. If you haven’t followed this campaign it has tugged at the heartstrings of a US nation which knows that Space Camp* is a key part of growing up.

While the Saban’s donation was undisclosed it is no coincidence that the campaigned surpassed it’s fund raising goal that same day.

Also this week was the welcome news that Mike Locksley, head coach of Maryland, announced the creation  of the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches.

Locksley said,

“When I took the Maryland job last year and looked at the landscape of college football, I thought to myself, There’s something missing. I’m on the back nine of my career and the pathway to becoming a head coach is still as difficult as when I got into the business in 1992.

 

I wanted to create an organization that would be able to help prepare, promote and produce the next group of coaches coming up through the ranks at every level.”

Only three NFL teams have a black head coach, and incredibly there are only fourteen black head coaches amongst the 130 football bowl subdivision teams. 

The premis of the coalition (which will be a not for profit organisation) is to identify and groom both male and female coaches of colour for upward mobility, and to create a candidates list which will be vetted by a board of director’s that includes an esteemed list of respected people from sports.

Amongst those appointed to the board are Ozzie Newsome, Bill Polian, Mike Tomlin, Doug Williams, Chris Grier, Willie Jeffries, Debbie Yow and Nick Saban. Locksley said of the board of directors:

“These are all people that have either hired head coaches or coordinators or filled upper-level positions throughout their careers. They all have been at the top of the mountain, per se, in their respective areas, whether winning Super Bowls or national championships or being pioneers, like Debbie Yow and Willie Jeffries. We want to use their experiences to help us formulate and produce the list of qualified candidates, so when people say there aren’t enough minorities to fill the positions that have come open over the years, we’re going to produce a list of qualified people that shows there are qualified people. What’s needed is opportunities.”

Locksley was on Saban’s staff from 2016, first as an analyst and then as offensive coordinator. During his time as the Crimson Tide’s OC, Alabama achieved an impressive 7.76 yards per play in 2018 with QB Tua Tagovailoa throwing for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Coaches interested in joining the coalition can find more information and join at NCMFC.com*.

 #RollTide #GoTerps