Mike Tomlin- Head Coach – Pittsburgh Steelers

Rod Graves- VP and GM -Arizona Cardinals

When the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals face off in Super Bowl XLIII, the issue of race will not be a major point of discussion among fans and commentators. Less than two weeks after Barack Obama, the United States’ first African American President, took office and a few days after the Republican Party selected an African American, Michael Steele ,as its chairman, there is little discussion of race and its importance to the game.

Black Quarterbacks

Flashback to 1988 and Super Bowl XXII, when the Washington Redskins and faced off against the Denver Broncos, race was front and center in the discussion of the game. Doug Williams was the Washington quarterback and was the center of attention because he was the first African American signal caller to start in a Super Bowl.

Williams got a great deal of attention especially when a member of the media allegedly asked him “How long have you been a black quarterback?” Williams had a record setting performance, led his team to victory and was the Most Valuable Player of the game. Williams’ performance helped to open up opportunities for African Americans to become starting quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL).

Black General Managers

In 2001 at Super Bowl XXXV, the New York Giants faced the Baltimore Ravens. The Giants were a solid offensive team pitted against the Ravens’ great defense. While both teams had a number African American star players, the Ravens’ director of player personnel, Ozzie Newsome, was one of a very few African American executives to run the player selection function of an NFL franchise.

The Ravens won the game and Newsome  was promoted to general manager and joined the ranks of revered executives in the NFL. In 2008 at Super Bowl XLII, another African American, Jerry Reese, the general manager of the New York Giants, built a team that won the big game.

Black Coaches

In 2007 at Super Bowl XLI, the Chicago Bears met the Indianapolis Colts. The issue of race was at the center of discussion regarding the game because both head coaches were African American. Lovie Smith the Bears head coach was a former assistant coach to Tony Dungy, the Colts’ headman. The Colts won the game and Dungy was the first African American coach to win the Super Bowl. This victory cemented Dungy’s legacy as one of the league’s great coaches.

Super Bowl XLIII

Super Bowl XLIII features the Arizona Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Neither of the starting quarterbacks are African American but the Steelers have had three African Americans as backup signal callers during the season. There has been a good deal of talk about the Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin.

Tomlin is the youngest head coach ever to participate in the Super Bowl. There is a great deal of discussion about the fact that Tomlin got the his job when the Steelers’ passed over one of their assistant coaches, the current Arizona Cardinals’ Coach Ken Whisenhunt. Much of the discussion centers on whether Whisenhunt’s knowledge of the Steelers gives the Cardinals an advantage in the game. There is little attention to the fact that Mike Tomlin is African American.

The media has focused on the Cardinals’ star players Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner. Fitzgerald is one of the league’s great receivers and Warner is a veteran quarterback who won a Super Bowl when he played for the Saint Louis Rams in 2000. Few people seem to talk much about the Cardinals’ Rod Graves,the man who put the team together. Graves is the Vice President of Football Operations and changed the culture of a team that had been perennial failure in the NFL for many years. By the way, Graves is also an African American.

Therefore, while America may not be a post racial society after electing an African American President, the National Football League might be on its way.