Penn State University’s James Franklin was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Kansas State in 2006-2007 and quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator and associate head coach at Maryland from 2008-2010.
The next year, Franklin was named head coach at Vanderbilt University.
Franklin is an exception, because the rise to head coaching positions in college football has been more difficult for Black coaches. A study of data analytics on Black head coaches at major colleges in recent years suggests that the odds favor those who have coached quarterbacks and cultivated professional relationships.
However, room for advancement doesn’t reside only on the offensive side of the ball. The defensive side has produced four Black head coaches who work in the Power 5 conferences.
Dr. Brian Joseph, an educational consultant, says his data show the key defensive stopover on the journey to head-coaching positions lies in the secondary: defensive-back coaches.
“Many offenses are throwing the ball 30-40 times a game, and, as a result, defenses have traded in traditional 4-3 defenses for defenses that routinely utilize five defensive backs,” said Joseph. “This has made the defensive backs coach an integral part of the defensive coaching scheme and hierarchy.
“Of the current head coaches within the Power 5 [conferences], 24 of 62 were former defensive coordinators and 19 of these were former defensive-back coaches. The current Black head coaches with defensive coordinator experience were all defensive backs coaches at some point in their early careers.”
