Patriots coach Bill Belichick has assembled the least diverse staff of any head coach in the NFL, according to an ESPN study of diversity in NFL coaching.
Belichick’s staff of 14 coaches includes just two minorities, meaning the Patriots have the NFL’s least diverse staff, according to ESPN. Those numbers do not include strength coaches and other non-football personnel.
Only three NFL teams have coaching staffs on which at least half the assistants are minorities, and all three have minority head coaches: Ron Rivera’s Panthers, Todd Bowles’s Jets and Mike Tomlin’s Steelers. The five coaching staffs with the lowest percentage of minority assistants — New England, Jacksonville, San Diego, Dallas and Washington — all have white head coaches.
As one of the most successful coaches in NFL history, Belichick will get the benefit of the doubt in a way other coaches would not: It’s hard to argue, given his success, that Belichick has done anything other than hire the most qualified assistants regardless of skin color.
On the other hand, given that Bill’s son Steve Belichick is the Patriots’ safeties coach and Bill’s other son Brian Belichick is a new Patriots scouting assistant, the Patriots may deserve some criticism for perpetuating the NFL’s old boys network.