Three years after being a finalist for position atop the NFL Players Association, sports lawyer David Cornwell has been hired to run the NFL Coaches Association.
Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com reports that Cornwell has taken the job. He replaces Larry Kennan, who left in December to become the head coach at the University of the Incarnate Word.
And here’s where it gets a little strange (as if knowing that the University of the Incarnate Word has a football program wasn’t strange enough). The NFLCA has close ties to the NFLPA, including multiple shared staff members. But two weeks ago, Cornwell fired a cannonball at NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, arguing that Smith should be fired.
For Cornwell’s new constituents, the larger question becomes whether he’ll try to unionize the NFL’s assistant coaches. Arguably, it’s a concept that is overdue. As a practical matter, however, any assistant coach who aspires to be a head coach will oppose unionization, loudly.