Saturday will mark a first in the 78-year history of the SEC. When Vanderbilt’s James Franklin and Kentucky’s Joker Phillips meet in Nashville it will be the league’s first ever matchup between black head football coaches.
The SEC had never even had a black football coach until Sylvester Croom was hired by Mississippi State in 2004.
Not to walk too far down a controversial road, but when more than 50% of college football players are black, it seems a wee bit odd that only 17 of the 120 head coaching jobs in the country (14%) are held by black coaches.
For now, most college presidents and athletic directors are white and people in power tend to hire people who are like themselves. But hopefully things will continue to improve on this front.
Either way, Saturday’s Kentucky-Vanderbilt game will feature another barrier being knocked down.
