Former ESPN personality Jemele Hill took to Twitter on Tuesday to insist that the only way black NFL coach Eric Bieniemy could get a head coaching job, is if he were white.
Hill was responding to a tweet by SportsCenter host Kevin Negandhi who wondered aloud, “When it comes to qualifications and experience, what else does Eric Bieniemy have to do to get an NFL head coaching gig?”
To that, Hill replied: “Be the one thing he can’t, which is white.”
Bieniemy, who is currently the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and also served a stint as a running backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings, has been cited as likely head coach material.
The New Orleans native was most recently in the running for head coach for the Cleveland Browns, and the New York Giants. He was also thought to be in the running to lead the Carolina Panthers until the team gave the nod to former Baylor coach Matt Rhule.
However, the Chiefs are still in the playoffs. That factor, as Peter King reports, had a lot more to do with his inability to land the Carolina job than his race.
As King explained to a Twitter user who thought race played a factor in Carolina’s decision to hire Baylor’s Matt Rhule over Bienemy:
It’s unknown if Bienemy’s availability played a role in the Giants decision to hire Patriots wide receiver coach Joe Judge over Bienemy, but if it was a consideration for Carolina, it was likely a factor for the Giants as well.
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