A Tale of Two Coaches
By Dave Zirin 

The flop-sweat had not even dried on Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning’s star-crossed brow before what will become the most endlessly thumped story of Super Bowl XLI hit the wires: For the first time in history, the head coaches of both teams are black.

No question this is a significant milestone. No question Colts helmsman Tony Dungy and Bears coach Lovie Smith deserve praise for shattering one of sports’ most formidable glass ceilings. No question this moment is particularly sweet for Smith, who remains the NFL’s lowest-paid head coach.

But the tenor and tone of the early coverage has provided fuzzy cover for NFL hiring practices that continue to look like they’re overseen by Strom Thurmond.
AP sports columnist Nancy Armour praised Dungy and Smith for keeping their noses down and working hard instead of “whining about life being unfair.”Sports Illustrated’s Jeffri Chadiha threw more laurels at Dungy, saying that what is “impressive about him is the way he’s opened doors for other minority coaches in the league over the last 11 years.”

Even Barack Obama weighed in, using the coaches’ accomplishment to burnish his own image as America’s Most Unthreatening Model Minority: “You know, what makes it even better is that they are both men of humility, they are both men of God…it is a wonderful story, not just for African-Americans but for all Americans to see men like that who are good fathers, who are good leaders, who do things the right way, succeed.”

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