James Franklin, Marcus Freeman share importance of making history for Black coaches in CFP
The winner of Thursday’s semifinal will become the first Black head coach to advance its team to a national title game.
No matter which team wins the Orange Bowl, either Penn State coach James Franklin or Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman will make history.
The winner of Thursday’s College Football Playoff semifinal showdown (7:30 p.m., ESPN) will become the first Black college coach to advance its team to a national title game.
Both coaches shed light on what the matchup means for the history and future of Black coaches.
» READ MORE: James Franklin or Marcus Freeman will join an elite list of barrier breakers. Up first is a historic CFP semifinal.
Following in footsteps
Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell, Mike Tomlin, and Romeo Crennel. The list is short, but it makes up a line of Black coaches who had success in both college and the NFL.
Dungy, a pioneer in the NFL realm, was the first Black coach to win a Super Bowl, with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. Franklin, Penn State’s head coach since 2014, was Kansas State’s offensive coordinator at the time. He remembers the significance then, and has long held a goal of becoming the first Black coach to win a national championship.
“Does this create opportunities for more guys to get in front of athletic directors? Does this create opportunities for search firms? I hope so,” Franklin said Saturday. “You just want an opportunity and you want to be able to earn it through your work and through your actions.”
Like Franklin, Freeman wants to see more minority coaches get opportunities at the college level. He also noted the handful of coaches, Black and white, who guided him to get to this point.
“The impact Jim Tressel’s had on my life, Luke Fickell and Darrell Hazell, the guys I worked for,” said Freeman, who took over for Brian Kelly as Notre Dame’s head coach in December 2021. “But then I’ve followed Tony Dungy from afar, reading his books, meeting with him. Mike Tomlin from afar, Todd Bowles, I mean, there’s great coaches. You don’t just follow them because of the color of their skin, you follow them because of their actions.”
Representation
Franklin and Freeman have embraced their position of role models for other coaches to look up to. Just being in the conversation, Freeman said, is a great honor.
“It’s a reminder that you are a representation for so many others that look like you. I don’t take that for granted, and I’m going to work tirelessly to be the best version of me,” Freeman said. “It’s great, because even the guys in our program, my own kids, can understand, like, don’t put a ceiling on what you can be and what you can do.”
In Franklin’s journey, he’s coached with many big names. Some are just reaching the height of their careers. Most notably, there’s Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris. There also are Old Dominion’s Ricky Rahne and Central Florida’s Scott Frost.
There were 16 Black head coaches in the 2024 FBS season. With retention rates being an issue around minority coaches, Franklin has been able to exemplify a successful Black coach on the collegiate level, and he knows what this semifinal match means.
“I’m honored to be able to compete against Marcus,” Franklin said. “I’m honored to be able to compete against Notre Dame. Most importantly, I’m honored to represent Penn State and the young men in that locker room.”