Vikings hire Rams Kevin O’ Connell

[ChiefsFan123456]

https://www.cbssports.com/

Interesting hire, it is going to be interesting to see how he does with the Vikings

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by staylor26

The fact that you have to get that far into it is silly.

The Vikings have a black GM. He’s clearly making the head coaching decision himself. The Vikings have also had multiple black head coaches.

Most hiring managers (all aspects of life) need approval/buy-in from their boss before hiring someone. I sure as hell did (it was a pain in the ass. My micro-manager boss required extensive write-ups and long discussions of each candidate). The NFL is no different. No GM is making the offer to a coach without the owner signing off (in a traditional setup). If leadership structure is similar to the Chiefs - where both report to the owner/president directly - it's not even the GM making the offer.

No clue how the Vikings have it structured.

My post was really two separate thoughts. I don't think I conveyed that very well.

Thought 1. One can question why incredibly young assistants with little experience who happen to be white are getting jobs over similarly (or more) successful black assistants with similar (or more) experience in the NFL. Even if not overt racism, what is leading to O'Connells and Staleys getting jobs instead of Hamiltons or Bienemys?

Thought 2. Though it has a similar trait to some of the more questionable hires, the Vikings job does not stand out as a bad example. The hire was made with a minority GM in the room for the interviews, and said GM had a prior connection to the coach.

Thought 3 (which I didn't state). When a hire like O'Connell happens (over more qualified candidates that include more qualified/experienced minority candidates), if there isn't some diversity in the interview panel, I believe it's fair to question the way those interviews are being conducted and how the decision-making process is finalized.

It's less overt racism and more tribalism in play, IMO, in those situations. IE, you have a room full of middle-aged and older guys making the decision with no diversity of background, and they're more likely to gravitate to someone in the interview who is more like them.

[staylor26]

You’re still thinking way too deep.

The Vikings hired a black GM and have hired multiple black HCs in the past. There is zero reason to think they would refuse to hire a black man.

Kwesi was clearly leading the charge on the hiring process as Harbaugh wasn’t even in the picture until he got the job. The 2 leading candidates were guys that he had a relationship with. That’s not a coincidence.

Unless you think Kwesi was possibly told not to hire a black guy, there’s just no reason in thinking about this one that deep.

And it’s the same thing with Ryan Poles who demanded control of the coaching hire and got it.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by staylor26

You’re still thinking way too deep.

The Vikings hired a black GM and have hired multiple black HCs in the past. There is zero reason to think they would refuse to hire a black man.

Kwesi was clearly leading the charge on the hiring process as Harbaugh wasn’t even in the picture until he got the job. The 2 leading candidates were guys that he had a relationship with. That’s not a coincidence.

Unless you think Kwesi was possibly told not to hire a black guy, there’s just no reason in thinking about this one that deep.

And it’s the same thing with Ryan Poles who demanded control of the coaching hire and got it.

I'm not thinking deeply on the Vikings job. Their GM hired a guy with whom he had worked in the trenches in the past. He knows him well and knows or thinks he knows what he brings to the table. I don't find it suspect at all (though I am super interested to see if McConnell, like Staley, shows his inexperience by having a team that's super sloppy at small things with lots of pre-snap penalties or illegal formations).

My deeper thoughts are on the topic of minority coaching hires in general.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I'm not thinking deeply on the Vikings job. Their GM hired a guy with whom he had worked in the trenches in the past. He knows him well and knows or thinks he knows what he brings to the table. I don't find it suspect at all (though I am super interested to see if McConnell, like Staley, shows his inexperience by having a team that's super sloppy at small things with lots of pre-snap penalties or illegal formations).

My deeper thoughts are on the topic of minority coaching hires in general.

"Its not happening here but that means it must be happening with other teams"

[staylor26]

Ok, so we’ve established that it’s not happening in Minnesota.

So where is it happening?

I’m just so sick of people talking about racism like a boogeyman. If you’re so sure it’s happening then you must have an idea of where.

I’m not asking to be a dick, but if we’re ever going to solve the problem, we have to actually determine where the problem is.

If you just continue to talk about the problem like it’s the boogeyman, nothing will ever change.

So let’s get specific here.

Who are the racist teams/owners?

If you can’t answer that question, then how in the world are you so sure that it’s real and that it’s systemic?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

"Its not happening here but that means it must be happening with other teams"

Not what I said at all.

It's a nuanced, complex topic (and not unique to the NFL or any specific majority race in a region).

Like I said, I don't think it's active/overt racism rampant across the entire league. I think the biggest issue is just a lot of guys around the table being white dudes with similar backgrounds and experience, and gravitated towards a candidate who is more like them (without even maybe realizing they are or WHY they are).

Unconscious tribalism/bias.

Which you combat by asking questions and trying to increase the diversity in the room making the decisions.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by stevieray

@ selective outrage

You call it selective. I just call it really ****ing annoying.

We get it. White dudes are overly sensitive to everything being called racist. Perhaps they feel a bit threatened by it even. And most people (even me) think this new form of the Rooney Rule is horse shit, and the Flores lawsuit is the natural cause of it all, where guys are getting waste-of-time token interviews that they wouldn't have had before had the Rooney Rule not been in place.

But that doesn't mean people have to do this sarcastic passive aggressive horse shit "Uhr huhr huhr Vikings are racists uhr huhr" bit.

There are a few more head coach hires yet to take place. I guaran****ingtee you some dipshit is going to make a comment about the coach's skin color when that guy gets hired.

Are we going to do this song and dance next year, too? How about after that? Is it going to end when EB is no longer on staff and we don't have to pay attention to this kind of thing?

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

You call it selective. I just call it really ****ing annoying.

We get it. White dudes are overly sensitive to everything being called racist. Perhaps they feel a bit threatened by it even. And most people (even me) think this new form of the Rooney Rule is horse shit, and the Flores lawsuit is the natural cause of it all, where guys are getting waste-of-time token interviews that they wouldn't have had before had the Rooney Rule not been in place.

But that doesn't mean people have to do this sarcastic passive aggressive horse shit "Uhr huhr huhr Vikings are racists uhr huhr" bit.

There are a few more head coach hires yet to take place. I guaran****ingtee you some dipshit is going to make a comment about the coach's skin color when that guy gets hired.

Are we going to do this song and dance next year, too? How about after that? Is it going to end when EB is no longer on staff and we don't have to pay attention to this kind of thing?

Stop pretending people aren't racist towards whites.

That's been the landscape for awhile now.

I agree, the whole "process" of skin color constantly coming into play sucks.

We haven't learned much from history.

[staylor26]

Love ya SNR, but it’s absolutely selective. You can’t pretend that only one side brings up race every time a hire is made.

Originally Posted by Direckshun

The white guy carousel continues.

The Raiders will be announcing Josh McDaniels as their next coach.

That’s Direckshun in his thread. Do you take issue with this the same way you do the other side?

If not, it’s selective outrage by the very definition.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I'm not thinking deeply on the Vikings job. Their GM hired a guy with whom he had worked in the trenches in the past. He knows him well and knows or thinks he knows what he brings to the table. I don't find it suspect at all (though I am super interested to see if McConnell, like Staley, shows his inexperience by having a team that's super sloppy at small things with lots of pre-snap penalties or illegal formations).

My deeper thoughts are on the topic of minority coaching hires in general.

If history shows, these black gms usually add a lot more diversity to the coaching staff. So in other words they’re committed to developing talent. But for the past decade teams have done a shit job of bringing them along.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by staylor26

Love ya SNR, but it’s absolutely selective. You can’t pretend that only one side brings up race every time a hire is made.



That’s Direckshun in his thread. Do you take issue with this the same way you do the other side?

If not, it’s selective outrage by the very definition.

Good lord man....it's Direckshun. That's like giving a shit ton of weight to other idiots around here.

Bleeding Red keeps bringing up Asian and Mexican coaches. Do you take his opinion serious?

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Originally Posted by stevieray

Stop pretending people aren't racist towards whites.

That's been the landscape for awhile now.

I agree, the whole "process" of skin color constantly coming into play sucks.

We haven't learned much from history.

I have lost out on jobs because I am a white male and the organizations were told that to hire a female or a minority because of diversity. Truth is, they don't want equality but special treatment.

[DJ's left nut]

Really fascinating that they spent 9 hours with Harbaugh and went a different direction.

I just have to wonder how that interview went. College coaches really can't afford to get 'caught looking' more than a time or two before they start to have some real recruiting problems. This kinda starts the clock on Harbaughs exit from Michigan, IMO, yet somehow he wasn't able to get the job locked down during an all-day interview?

I just wonder what the hell happened there. What was he asking for? Or where did he fail?

Really interesting turn of events.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by The Franchise

Good lord man....it's Direckshun. That's like giving a shit ton of weight to other idiots around here.

Bleeding Red keeps bringing up Asian and Mexican coaches. Do you take his opinion serious?

I’m just pointing out that there’s a lot of people on the other side of the argument that feel the need to make a comment every time. Not just “Stephen A. Smith” like SNR implied.

I’m talking in general too, not just CP.

I guess on here you’re more likely to see one side, but as somebody who is a member on a predominantly black message board, it absolutely goes both ways.

[Shields68]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Really fascinating that they spent 9 hours with Harbaugh and went a different direction.

I just have to wonder how that interview went. College coaches really can't afford to get 'caught looking' more than a time or two before they start to have some real recruiting problems. This kinda starts the clock on Harbaughs exit from Michigan, IMO, yet somehow he wasn't able to get the job locked down during an all-day interview?

I just wonder what the hell happened there. What was he asking for? Or where did he fail?

Really interesting turn of events.

The speculation was Harbaugh made some demands about roster control and personnel decisions that was turned down.