CNN suggests racism behind firing of Texans' Lovie Smith, other Black NFL coaches: 'Trend emerges'

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CNN’s morning show dedicated a lengthy segment on Tuesday to putting a spotlight on a Black NFL head coach being fired after just one year on the job while largely ignoring White coaches who suffered the same fate. 

The seven-minute segment began with "CNN This Morning" co-host Don Lemon declaring, "Another Black coach in the NFL – out."

The Houston Texans fired head coach Lovie Smith on Sunday night after just one season. Smith’s team went a dismal 3-13-1 – one of the three victories came in the final week of the season when a loss would have actually benefited the franchise by guaranteeing the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. Smith had replaced David Culley, who is also Black and was fired after just one year.

CNN’s Don Lemon declared, "Another Black coach in the NFL – out," to kick off a lengthy segment.

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For almost the entire segment, CNN’s on-screen chyron stated, "Another Black NFL coach is fired after just one season at helm," alongside the words "Trend Emerges."

CNN aired a clip of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith slamming the Texans for firing Black head coaches in consecutive years which was used as the impetus for the remainder of the segment. 

HBO and ESPN host Bomani Jones declared the "whole [Texans] organization is a dumpster fire" and said he wouldn’t advise anyone to take its head coaching job going forward. In fact, he believes Smith and Culley were only hired in the first place because White candidates weren’t interested. 

"I think the last two times they hired Black dudes because largely, no respected White man would take that job. They were down to people who felt like they had to take the job," Jones said. 

Co-host Kaitlin Collins pointed out the Texans had a "disastrous" season, and said the dysfunction of the Texans franchise is a separate problem from the NFL’s lack of Black head coaches. 

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"It does put a spotlight on the diversity in the NFL," Collins said. 

CNN’s morning show dedicated a lengthy segment to putting a spotlight on a Black NFL head coach being fired after one season.

Jones admitted it would be an easier conversation after the current hiring cycle, as Black candidates could land several open jobs. CNN then put up a graphic of NFL coaches who were fired after one year since 2011. Seven of them were White, including Urban Meyer, who lasted less than a year with the Jaguars last season, and Nathaniel Hackett, who didn't even reach the conclusion of the 2022 season with the Denver Broncos before getting his pink slip.

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CNN’s on-screen chyron stated, "Another Black NFL coach is fired after just one season at helm." (CB)

Jones then examined the Rooney Rule, which the NFL implemented to ensure minority candidates receive interviews for high-level positions such as general manager and head coach. He admitted the league’s coaching situation looks "better" than it did a few years ago when there were significantly fewer Black head coaches, but CNN’s on-screen graphic continued to focus on "another Black coach" being terminated. 

"I think some steps have actually happened that the NFL doesn’t quite get enough credit for. One, there are a lot more Black coordinators in the NFL than there were before and that is typically the tracking position that gets you to head coach," Jones said. "I don’t want to say the league has done absolutely nothing." 

The CNN panel didn’t mention that the Arizona Cardinals fired Kliff Kingsbury, who is White, on Monday. White head coaches Frank Reich of the Indianapolis Colts, Matt Rhule of the Carolina Panthers, and Hackett were also fired during the 2022 season, although all but Hackett had been on the job for multiple seasons.

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