Marshall Faulk Has Strong Words for Alleged Racial Bias in College Football Hiring

NFL legend Marshall Faulk pulled no punches when calling out the alleged deep systemic racial biases that Black players face when pursuing head coaching careers post-retirement.

Speaking with USA TODAY, the Hall of Fame running back noted what he called a frustrating double standard: Black candidates are routinely passed over for top collegiate and NFL gigs, while their white counterparts—often with far less experience—are fast-tracked into leadership roles.

Because of this speculated gatekeeping, legendary Black players are increasingly turning to HBCUs to prove their organizational brilliance and force Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs to take notice.

Faulk is the latest icon to join the movement, taking over as head coach for the Southern University Jaguars—an HBCU. He follows a powerful blueprint laid out by Deion Sanders, who dominated at Jackson State before leaping to the Power Four.

Other NFL greats are executing the exact same playbook, including Eddie George at Tennessee State, Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson—all leveraging HBCU platforms to reshape the coaching landscape.

“Football’s the only sport that players struggle to come off the field and become a coach,” Faulk told USA Today. “They look at us like if you’re successful at the game playing, then you won’t be successful at the game in any other capacity.”

There are only 13 Black head coaches out of 136 teams in major college football, USA Today reported. In 2011, it was only 17 Black head coaches out of 120 teams.

“I’m just gonna say what it is. Matt Ryan can be a GM,” Faulk added. “Why do other players kind of go through and jump through the hoops to be a GM?”

Faulk even mentioned that it’s not just football where Black players are often overlooked compared to their white peers. Take a look at the NBA, where Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick was hired with no coaching experience.

“You can be JJ Redick and never have coaching experience and get the Lakers job. But can Marshall Faulk get the Rams’ job? Hell no. It is what it is,” Faulk continued.

For Faulk, if navigating the historically gatekept coaching landscape means Black candidates must first prove their worth at an HBCU, he is fully prepared to lace up his boots because “there’s a level of comfort.”

He added: “If this is the route we have to go to show like Coach Prime did, that hey, ‘I can lead an organization, I can do what I need to do.’ And I’ll do that. It’s no different than a lot of other coaches that went this route.”