Dennis Green: The Forgotten Pioneer

By: Steven Ngati

      One of the saddest things about losing someone is realizing how underappreciated they truly were when they were still here. I think for many NFL fans, players and coaches we’re realizing this was the case when it comes to Dennis Green who passed away of a heart attack last month at the age of 67. Of course the immediate memory of Green is his spirted rant as the Arizona Cardinals coach following that memorable Monday night meltdown against the Bears. I’ve seen social media flooded with videos of Green screaming, “THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE! AND WE LET THEM OFF THE HOOK!” Like everyone else at the time, I thought it was one of the most entertaining postgame press conferences that I had ever seen. I would be lying if I said that I no longer quote that press conference, it’s hilarious. Unfortunately, that rant somehow became his legacy and it’s so unfair for such a pioneer in the sport of football to be remembered for one press conference. It saddens me when I type Dennis Green's name into Google or Youtube, and the first thing to pop up is that press conference. I choose to remember Dennis Green for being the 2nd black head coach in NFL history post-merger. I choose to remember Dennis Green for being an offensive mastermind and one of the most successful head coaches of the 1990’s. Green made the playoffs 8 of his 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings including his record breaking 1998 team that went 15-1 and set the NFL record for most points scored in a season. Tony Dungy and Brian Billick were Green assistants who went on to become Super Bowl winning head coaches. Green’s success opened the door for many successful black coaches over the next decade. Green led quarterbacks like Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George, Brad Johnson and Daunte Culpepper to career years. Green’s coaching run in Minnesota during the 1990’s was extremely impressive. As an assistant coach, Green was groomed in the prestigious Bill Walsh coaching tree alongside coaching legends George Seifert and Mike Holmgren. Disciples of Holmgren and Seifert like Andy Reid, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Gary Kubiak and Jim Harbaugh are widely recognized as some of the best offensive minds in the history of the sport. With Green’s resume and apprenticeship directly under Bill Walsh, why do so many people only remember the postgame rant, instead of mentioning him in the same sentence of the aforementioned coaches?

      That question is the plight of black football coaches. While black coaches have had success on both levels and won Super Bowls over the last 20 years, there is still a miniscule number of black coaches in the sport. Going into the 2015-16 college football season there were only 13 black head coaches at the FBS level with over 120 programs and going into this upcoming NFL season there are only five black head coaches in a 32 team league. (OK, there’s really six black head coaches. We recently traded Bow Wow, Stacey Dash and a conditional 2nd round pick in 2019 for Bruce Arians in the last racial draft.) Considering over 50% of FBS College football players last season were black and almost 70% of NFL players are black, don’t those coaching numbers seem a little odd to you? At the NFL level, teams are aware of this and have made concessions like the Rooney Rule to help level the playing field for minority head coaching candidates. While strides have been made, we won’t be on a level playing field until the perception and treatment of black coaches improves and they are viewed as true equals. I could go on for days with examples of black coaches who have been fired with the same or better resume than white coaches who get to keep their job. Dennis Green got fired in Minnesota one year removed from the NFC Championship game and winning his division after having his first losing season in 10 years. Jason Garrett is currently entering his 7th season as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys coming off a 4-12 season and only one season with a winning record during his tenure. I’m not saying the Cowboys are racist for holding on to Red Jesus for another season, I’m merely pointing out that there has always been a different standard for black coaches in this league.

       There’s another lesser known challenge that black coaches face as well; what side of the ball do you coach? Over the last 20 years have you noticed the majority of black coaches who do get head coaching opportunities are primarily defensive guys? During the 70’s and 80’s, as we started to see more black assistant coaches on the sidelines most of them seemed to be on the defensive side of the ball. The NFL became comfortable with black defensive coordinators, but a black offensive coordinator is like a solar eclipse. This offseason, Hue Jackson became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns after a successful stint as the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. This is Jackson’s second opportunity as a head coach as he was fired after going 8-8, despite leading the Raiders to their most wins since 2002. Would somebody like Mr. 7-9 Jeff Fisher have gotten axed after one season? I highly doubt it.

       Warren Moon was one of the top college quarterbacks in college football during the late 1970’s, but was infamously prohibited from playing quarterback in the NFL until 1984 due to the color of his skin. “Reading defenses, understanding schemes, being the face of a franchise: There were just a lot of people in pro football who didn’t think we could do that. These were the ‘thinking positions.’ We were good for the athletic, reaction positions: run, jump, block.” commented Moon in a New York Times interview from February of this year. The thinking of black athletes being intellectually inferior to handle certain positions has been perpetuated to an even greater degree amongst the coaching ranks. Defensive coaches are typically fiery, motivational type coaches who offer X’s and O’s input, but often from a reactionary perspective of the game. Offensive coaches like Sean Payton, Mike McCarthy and Andy Reid get the cool mastermind labels and often more respect from a schematic, intellectual standpoint. Dennis Green proved that a black coach could excel functioning at a high intellectual capacity while also being a successful head coach. I would be remised if I didn’t highlight the juxtaposition of Green coaching Moon during the mid-90s.

Warren Moon only played 2 1/2 seasons under Green, but he threw for 4,000 plus yards twice and was 1st Team All-Pro in 1995. (Photo credit Jonathan Daniel/Stringer)

        Over the last few weeks, I’ve read some tremendous pieces written about Dennis Green, the man, father, husband, player’s coach and even his underrated collegiate coaching career at Northwestern and Stanford. I was happy to learn so much about him off the field, but I wish Green had gotten his rightfully deserved credit while he was still alive. The next time Dennis Green’s name comes up in conversation, just remember "to put some RESPECK on it", as my dude Birdman would say. In all seriousness, we’ve come a long way breaking down barriers for the black quarterback. We still have a ways to go with black offensive coaches, but Dennis Green did so much to move football forward and for that I’m thankful. Rest in peace, Dennis Green.