Article - January 17th, 2007
Coaches chasing Super Bowl - and history
By Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY
Tony Dungy is at the doorstep of history for the third time. But in this case he has some company.
The Indianapolis Colts coach and Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith can break ground if one or both advance to Super Bowl XLI by winning in Sunday's AFC and NFC Championship Games.
No African-American head coach has ever taken a team to the Super Bowl.
The NFL had a record seven African-American head coaches in 2006 and a record 197 coaches, including seven assistant head coaches. The numbers reflect much progress with diversity in a league where roughly two-thirds of the players are minorities.
More doors have opened in recent years, coinciding with the so-called "Rooney Rule" requiring teams interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching jobs.
"We can say that it really shouldn't matter, but we know that it does," says John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which monitors and promotes the hiring of minority coaches. "That's why it's rewarding to see that Tony and Lovie have reached this point. I'm proud of them. And they are so aware of the historical context."
This is the first time two African-American coaches have advanced to conference title games in the same season. On Monday, the New York Giants named Jerry Reese as the third African-American general manager in NFL history.
"Dr. King has to be smiling about all of this," Wooten said.