Davante Adams Reacts To Las Vegas Raiders Hiring Black President, Wants It To Become The Norm.
All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams received questions about the significance of the step for African Americans everywhere.
It’s just a normal thing; that’s the ultimate goal,
the former Packer said.
The more we can make this a normal thing and at least level the playing field – that’s what we’re striving for.
How the rest of the Raiders’ two-win season under Pierce and Kelly against two crumbling New York teams goes, needs to be seen.
The elephant in the room is this: Over the past decade, the interim coach has often been an African-American coach. And almost every time, the team that brought them to the top wasn’t interested in hiring them full-time, regardless of whether they were successful or not.
Steve Wilks is a perfect example of a Black interim coach who revitalized the Panthers’ locker room following the firing of Matt Rhule in the 2022 season.
Carolina was 1-4 at the time of the shootout and Wilks led his diverse group of guys to a 6-6 record the rest of the game. The players talked in the locker room about Wilks and his immediate impact.
As of now, several fans have requested the removal of the temporary tag. Unfortunately, like many before them, the franchise looked the other way and let Wilks go.
Frank Reich, former Colts coach. In the first year of the Reich era, the Panthers took places 1-8; it is the worst result in the entire league when it comes to watching home games.
If we look beyond the interim coaches, we find even more frightening numbers.
In NFL history, the league has had more than 500 head coaches. It should be noted that diversity is gradually finding its way into leadership positions within 32 teams.
The Rooney Rule doesn’t always work as intended and there is still a lot of room for further development in this area, but hopefully DeMeco Ryans’ success with the Texans in 2023 will help spur further progress. And then there’s Antonio Pierce.
The Raiders named Rich Bisaccia as interim head coach in 2021 as the special teams coach led the Silver and Black to a shocking playoff berth.
They hired the first full-time Black coach in modern NFL history when the franchise still operated in Los Angeles.
To their credit, the Raiders were ahead of the curve in this regard.
They hired the first full-time black head coach in modern NFL history when the franchise was still in Los Angeles.
Hall of Famer Art Shell, from 1989-1994 (and again in 2006), served as the leading voice for the locker room.
Shell initially served as interim head coach before taking on the position full-time.
Pierce still has a long way to go to clear the temporary tag, but his intensity and ability to connect with players is something any team would be happy to have.
The decision is expected to be made in two months. Pierce (and Kelly) will have a great audition with the rest of the 2023 cast.
Let’s hope Davis is actually willing to give Pierce a real fighting chance. Especially in a league with so many African-American players.
If a man can risk his life as a player, why doesn’t he get the same recognition when it comes to being a coach? Ths is the question that needs to be asked.
