As the NFL season kicks off on Sept. 9 with a rematch of February’s Super Bowl, Black head coaches might be hard to find. But the league is abundant with Black leaders at the signal caller position. Fifteen of the 32 NFL teams this season have Black starting quarterbacks. While this is an impressive number considering the complicated and oppressive history associated with the quarterback position in the NFL, it doesn’t eclipse last year’s historical mark. The most number of Black starting quarterbacks in a single NFL season is 16, a record set in Week 1 of the 2025 season.
15 Of 32 NFL Starting Quarterbacks Are Black
An NFL account on X brought this to fans’ attention and called it “powerful.”
“Powerful: There are 15 black starting QBs this season.
• Lamar Jackson
• Pat Mahomes
• Jalen Hurts
• Kyler Murray
• Deshaun Watson
• Caleb Williams
• Dak Prescott
• Jordan Love
• Jacoby Brissett
• Malik Willis
• Cam Ward
• Jayden Daniels
• CJ Stroud
• Bryce Young
• Geno Smith”
The Shadow League used to have a “Black Quarterback Chronicles” recap every Monday, highlighting excellent play by melanated quarterbacks each week. Back then, 10 Black starting quarterbacks in the league was still a lot.
Contrast this upcoming season with 2021, when just five Black quarterbacks started games for NFL teams to start the season: Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens), Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs), Deshaun Watson (Houston Texans) Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks) and Teddy Bridgewater (Carolina Panthers.)
Fans React To Post About Black NFL Starting Quarterbacks: How Come Blacks Claim Biracial Players?
Some fans could appreciate the progress, others didn’t think race should be mentioned.
“Americans have to make everything about race,” one user commented.
“Who cares if they’re black brown , yellow , or orange??? Stupid tweet to get reactions outta people,” quipped one fan.
While many fans who aren’t Black pushed back against the concept of the “Black Quarterback,” others claim that biracial guys such as Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott and Jordan Love, who all have white moms, shouldn’t be considered Black quarterbacks at all. They are even challenging the Blackness of Minnesota Vikings QB Kyler Murray, whose mom is Black and Korean.
“Mahomes and Love are basically white. Jordan Love has this stupid nonchalant gimmick, but he’s grown up with a white mom for half his life,” another fan commented.
“Stop claiming mulattos,” expressed one netizen. “They have more Caucasian ancestors than African ancestors.”
“So Biracials are now Blacks?” one fan asked. To which another replied, “I just see Americans, none of them are immigrants from Africa.
“What does race have to do with it! We are past that,” one user tweeted.
Black Quarterbacks Are Up, Black Head Coaches Are Down
The quarterbacks are surely getting more love as the game has changed and more teams want to highlight athleticism at the position. As far as head coaches are concerned, the numbers seem to be decreasing. There was a time when the numbers were increasing.
With the departure of legendary Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, there’s just three Black NFL head coaches: DeMeco Ryans of the Houston Texans, Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Aaron Glenn of the New York Jets. They represent a consistent systemic problem that has not been solved in executive leadership positions and ownership in the NFL.
There Were Eight Minority Head Coaches In NFL In 2017
In 2017, a record eight minority head coaches began the season and seven were Black: rhe Chargers’ Anthony Lynn, Denver’s Vance Joseph, Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis, Pittsburgh’s Tomlin, Detroit’s Jim Caldwell, Cleveland’s Hue Jackson, Todd Bowles at the New York Jets, and Carolina’s Ron Rivera were leading NFL teams.
Over the NFL’s history, only 25 Black coaches have held head coaching positions out of more than 500 total head coaches. Trailblazers like Art Shell, Tony Dungy, Dennis Green and Mike Tomlin have opened doors, but progress has been slow despite initiatives like the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and executive positions.
The Rooney Rule has somewhat increased interview opportunities, but has not directly translated to a significant increase in Black head coaches. For now, gains in Black quarterback representation definitely shifts the focus off of that position. While certain systemic boundaries do still exist, having close to 50 percent of the signal callers in the league be represented definitely shows a huge shift in philosophy and opportunity.
