Moore: Steve Wilks? Byron Leftwich? NFL remains stagnant on diversity

So, let me get this straight: An angry quarterback brought the NFL to its knees with a protest against racism that led to tens of millions of dollars in donations, promises to revamp minority hiring and recruiting practices, and pro-diversity messages on helmets and fields across the league, but the latest coaching cycle looks like the same ol’ same?

Got it.

Steve Wilks saved the Carolina Panthers from irrelevance this season after Matt Rhule ran the franchise into the ground over the past two years. Wilks doesn’t have a job, but Rhule is now the head coach at Nebraska.

Lovie Smith was fired after one year in Houston, but Matt Eberflus still has a job in Chicago.

And Byron Leftwich was dismissed as offensive coordinator in Tampa, despite leading an attack that over the last four seasons has seen a quarterback lead the league in passing yards twice and never finish outside of the top three, but Nathaniel Hackett just got hired by the Jets, despite making the Broncos look like a bunch of donkeys last season.

Wanna guess which of those guys I just mentioned are Black?

I’m convinced that decisionmakers around the NFL need to start answering to the fans who fund their multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

Like if a team has three losing seasons in a row, its ownership group should have to campaign for its job in a general election where fans vote for who should run the team.

Or two losing seasons in a row would get a franchise relegated to the USFL, while top-performing USFL teams would get moved up to the big league.

Or any losing season at all would entitle taxpayers who’ve funded new stadiums or upgrades to get a chunk of their money back in the form of refund checks.

Something. Anything.

Otherwise, these head-scratching decisions that reward ineptitude will just keep piling up like empty beer cans at the feet of disillusioned fans who live and breathe every loss. Or, worse, those same frustrated supporters will find religion and start seeking out things to do besides watching the NFL.

We’ve heard that diversity in hiring was bad because of a lack of qualified candidates.

That’s demonstrably false.

Steve Wilks should be a head coach. Eric Bieniemy should be a head coach. Brian Flores should be a head coach. Jim Caldwell should be a head coach. Lovie Smith should be a head coach. Marvin Lewis should be a head coach. Vance Joseph should be a head coach. And, for the love of stopping the run, DeMeco Ryans should be a head coach!

Thank goodness for Mike Tomlin, who wins whenever he has a competent quarterback, and the Rooney family who granted him an opportunity to do the job.

We’ve heard that the NFL has a “pipeline problem,” but that seems bigger than ever this year.

There have been five coordinator-level hires so far this cycle: The Jets, Patriots and Rams all have hired offensive coordinators and the Browns and Falcons have hired defensive coordinators. Not one of these jobs has gone to a Black candidate.

And we’ve heard that diversity is a priority for the NFL, especially in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s career-ending protest that stoked the Black Lives Matter movement and shook the foundations of American society, including the NFL. But with a powerful opportunity to put their money where their messaging has been, teams have routinely passed over Black candidates for high-profile and powerful jobs.

To be clear, there has been progress. It wasn’t that long ago that it would have been unheard of for a team to have a Black general manager. The Tennessee Titans have hired Ran Carthon to that position, and the Cardinals reportedly tried to hire Ian Cunningham away from the Bears.

To further that point, fans who’ve started following the league in the last few years would have a hard time believing that there was ever a dearth of Black quarterbacks or middle linebackers.

And there are still openings on the market. The Broncos, Cardinals, Colts and Texans all are still looking for head coaches, and there are a slew of coordinator positions available, so this could still work out.

But, right now, it looks like NFL owners are systemically ignoring people of color for leadership positions, which couldn’t possibly be the best thing for competition, which is really all the fans care about: Winning.

It stands to reason that if the league has been predominantly Black on the field for at least the last generation, then that should be reflected in high-level front office and sideline positions.

Otherwise, we’re just looking at the same ol’ same?

Got it.

Greg Moore is an award-winning columnist who has covered Arizona sports since 2017, including the NBA Finals, WNBA Finals, NFL playoffs, MLB playoffs, the College Football Playoff, championship fights in the UFC and boxing, the NCAA Men's Tournament, NASCAR races, the WM Phoenix Open, and the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. He's also a member of The Arizona Republic's editorial board, writing about race, culture and being a dad.

Reach him via email @gmoore@azcentral.com or Twitter @SayingMoore.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Wilks and Leftwich get left out as NFL fails to fix diversity problem