Dallas Sportscaster: Arizona Hired Kliff Kingsbury Because He’s ‘Young and White’

Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen believes NFL owners are guilty of “covert racism” in their hiring practices, and that Arizona hired Kliff Kingsbury because he’s “young and white.”

The NFL started the 2018 season with seven black head coaches, and now it’s down to two.

The five black coaches who were fired are Steve Wilks (Arizona Cardinals), Hue Jackson (Cleveland Browns), Todd Bowles (New York Jets), Vance Joseph (Denver Broncos) and Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals). The two left are Anthony Lynn (Los Angeles Chargers) and Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers).

“The covert racism of the NFL ownership group is so bad, the NFL had to make a rule so minority coaches could at least get an interview,” Hansen said on Wednesday during his sportscast on ABC’s Dallas affiliate WFAA.

Hansen is referring to “The Rooney Rule” which the NFL instituted in 2003 mandating teams interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and GM jobs.

The Cardinals fired Wilks after just one losing season, and replaced him with Kliff Kingsbury, who had a losing record at Texas Tech (35-40). This irks some, but Hansen believes he understands the reason Kingsbury got the Cardinals’ job.

“There has been a lot of criticism of the Arizona Cardinals hiring Kliff Kingsbury as their head coach,” Hansen said. “Kingsbury fits all the criteria to be a head coach in the NFL. He’s an offensive genius and he’s young and he’s white and not necessarily in that order.”

Hansen, a Navy veteran, originally from Iowa, thinks African-American coach Kris Richard deserves the Miami Dolphins head coaching job.

“Cowboys secondary coach Kris Richard has been interviewed and there are reports he might get the Miami job,” Hansen said. “After what he’s done with this Cowboys’ defense, how could he not? At least if it is true what black parents have been telling their children for decades now, you have to be twice as good, to go half as far. I dream of that day those parents are wrong. Because now, their not.”

Hansen feels he’s been a recipient of “white privilege” throughout his long career in radio and television, and feels this might be a problem in the NFL as well.

“A lot of people don’t understand how Kingsbury can have a losing record, no NFL experience, and get one of the 32 NFL jobs,” Hansen said. “But getting fired at Tech doesn’t eliminate him from moving up, at least it doesn’t to me. I have had 11 jobs in my life, been fired from eight of them, and moved up every time. And I’m American enough to tell you, I think Channel 8 was right to give me another chance, but I am the product of white privilege in America. I never denied that I wasn’t either. If they made a poster, my picture should be on it. Getting fired at one place and getting another chance isn’t the problem, but young talented coaches of color not getting the chance that is a huge problem.”