James Franklin and Marcus Freeman recognize the historic nature of their CFP semifinal

James Franklin of Penn State and Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame already have broken ground as the first Black head coaches to lead teams to the College Football Playoff. Both are 2-0 in the 12-team tournament and face each other in a semifinal Thursday night in the Fiesta Bowl.

That means one of the two is certain to become the first Black coach to play for a CFP championship.

The overwhelming sentiment around college football is that it’s about time.

Franklin, who has been the Penn State coach for 11 seasons after three at Vanderbilt, compared the opportunity to the first Super Bowl featuring Black head coaches, Super Bowl XLI between Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears in 2007.

“I remember thinking that, as a coach, how significant that was in the profession, and how significant that was for young coaches coming up in the profession, to see those guys in that role,” Franklin said at the Fiesta Bowl news conference. “I also remember, at that time, there were a lot of conversations about, ‘Will this impact the profession? Will this impact opportunities for guys?’”

It might have, but not to the extent some hoped. The number of Black head coaches at the FBS level has grown from six in 2007 to 16 now, still low considering nearly 50% of FBS players are Black.

“I know some people will say, ‘Well, that that’s not a huge increase,’ but it is an increase,” Franklin said. “At the end of the day, does this create opportunities for more guys to get in front of athletic directors? Does this create opportunities for search firms? I hope so.”

Black head coaches have been hired in the NFL at about the same rate as the college ranks. These five currently hold their positions (Jerod Mayo was fired by the New England Patriots the day the regular season ended):

• Raheem Morris: Hired by the Atlanta Falcons
• Antonio Pierce: Promoted by the Las Vegas Raiders
• Todd Bowles: Head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• DeMeco Ryans: Head coach of the Houston Texans
• Mike Tomlin: Head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Progress in the Power 4 college conferences has been slower. Only eight of 68 head coaches are Black, with another three non-Black minorities:

Big 10 Conference: Four of 18 head coaches are Black — Franklin, UCLA’s DeShaun Foster, Michigan’s Sherrone Moore and Maryland’s Mike Locksley. (Purdue’s Ryan Walters was fired Dec. 1 after going 5-19 in two seasons and will become defensive coordinator at Washington.)

Atlantic Coast Conference: Three of 18 head coaches are Black — Freeman, Virginia’s Tony Elliott and Syracuse’s Fran Brown — and Miami’s Mario Cristobal is of Cuban descent.

Big 12 Conference: One of 16 head coaches is Black —Colorado’s Deion Sanders. Two others are minorities — Brigham Young’s Kalani Sitake (Pacific Islander) and Baylor’s Dave Aranda (Mexican).

Southeastern Conference: Zero of the 16 head coaches are Black or another minority. Black players make up more than 60% of those 16 teams and a study showed that from 2019 through 2021, 90% of four- and five-star SEC recruits were black.

During the Fiesta Bowl news conference, Freeman noted that while his father is Black, his mother is South Korean, making him the first coach of Asian descent in the CFP. He said he doesn’t take for granted that he is a representation of others that look like him.

“I’m going to work tirelessly to be the best version of me, and it’s great, because even the guys in our program can understand, ‘Don’t put a ceiling on what you can be and what you can do,’” he said.

Freeman and Franklin recognize the responsibility they carry and the role models they have become. Their primary focus this week is winning the Fiesta Bowl and playing for the CFP title, but when the offseason rolls around they say they will assist the efforts of fellow Black coaches.

“If you want to impact the young people in this profession, you probably should do things to help them, and those are things that maybe after the season I could focus on trying to do,” Freeman said. “I want to be a representation. But that’s not enough. If you want to truly help some people, then you got to be one to make decisions and actions that truly help people.”