NFL coaches diversity report 2023: Pittsburgh Steelers' staff still leads league
NFL coaching staffs are growing more diverse — but not at every position, nor on every team.
For the second consecutive year, USA TODAY Sports compiled career histories and biographic information for every on-field coach in the league at the beginning of the season, from head coaches and coordinators at the top all the way down to quality control coaches and coaching fellows. The data excludes strength and conditioning coaches, analysts/football research staffers, administrative assistants and interns.
All told, USA TODAY Sports' data shows the overall number of coaches in the league has grown by 4%, to 752 coaches total. And it illustrates year-over-year changes in the number of diverse coaches at different levels of the coaching ladder, as well as a broad snapshot of coaching diversity within the league exactly two decades after the 2003 implementation of the Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview candidates of color for key positions.
"I know the focus is on head coaches, we understand that, but we’re focused on the entire league. How do we continue to have diversity be a part of our league and make us better?" NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a news conference last month.
"There’s significant progress. But ... I’m probably always frustrated by the pace of the progress. It’s never enough for yours truly. We obviously know we have work to do here.”
Two decades after Rooney Rule, less than 20% of NFL head coaches are diverse
USA TODAY Sports also examined coaching diversity within each team, both in terms of non-white representation at the head coach and coordinator positions and as an overall percentage of the team's coaching staff.
Like in 2022, coaches' biographic information was obtained via league and team media guides. USA TODAY Sports identified the race/ethnicity of specific coaches by using public records, published news articles and information provided by team employees, agents and coaches themselves.
Some gains in NFL diversity statistics in 2023
NFL staffs employed a combined 20 additional coaches of color at the start of this season than they did in 2022. That broadly means more opportunity, though the percentage of diverse NFL coaches rose just one percentage point to 44.3% because teams added 30 coaching jobs.
Yet in a league where men of color make up roughly 75% of the player pool, according to data published by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida, there remains a gap between the diversity of players and the coaches leading them.
There are reasons for optimism, however. The NFL saw an increase this year in the number of coaches of color at the position coach and assistant position coach levels, two critical stepping stones to head coach and coordinator posts.
"You can point to areas, particularly I would say in the last five to 10 years, where the league is taking steps to ensure that the processes are improving," said Rod Graves, who leads the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a nonprofit organization that champions diversity in the NFL. "I credit Roger Goodell. I credit the diversity committee and the owners, quite frankly, for recognizing that these are important areas for the league in terms of its commitment to equal opportunities.
"But as a billion-dollar business, I’m always of the opinion we should be doing more and we should be much further ahead.”
More defensive coaching opportunities in NFL
Coaches of color are more prevalent in defensive staff rooms. They also have more opportunities to lead on that side of the ball.
Prior to the September resignation of Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams, who is Black, the majority of NFL defensive coordinators were men of color. All but four offensive coordinator positions, meanwhile, are held by white coaches.
This matters because, in a league that prizes offensive performance, a resume filled with defensive experience isn't a natural path toward one of the 32 head coaching jobs — just six of which are held by coaches of color this season. The league is aiming to address this disparity by encouraging the hiring of coaches of color on the offensive side of the ball, and requiring the hiring of one coach of color or woman as a low-level offensive assistant.
"This is what we're trying to address," said NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent. "The development of young coaches to become quarterback coaches, offensive quality control, hopefully an offensive coordinator, then potentially one day be considered a head coach."
Pittsburgh Steelers remain NFL's most diverse
Coaches of color make up just over two-thirds of the Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff, which leads the league in coaching diversity for a second consecutive season. Pittsburgh is led by one of the league's three Black head coaches, Mike Tomlin, and also has a defensive coordinator of color in Teryl Austin.
By percentage of on-field coaches who identify as coaches of color, Pittsburgh's staff is 10 percentage points more diverse than the Seattle Seahawks, who rank second this year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets and Washington Commanders are third, fourth and fifth, respectively. All three teams are led by a head coach of color.
On the other end of the spectrum are the Cincinnati Bengals, whose staff is just 25% non-white. The Bengals also ranked last in this category a year ago. They are one of 10 teams in the NFL this season with white men at head coach and each of their coordinator positions.
More from USA TODAY's NFL coaches project
Since 2022, USA TODAY Sports compiled and analyzed demographic data for NFL coaches at every step of the coaching ladder, from head coach to quality control. This ongoing series has explored where coaches of color get stuck in the pipeline, a brief history of Black coaches and how hot non-white head coaching candidates can go cold.