In a rare move, Chris Fowler passed up the opportunity to criticize Texas A&M football. If fact, he actually defended us. The head of Black Coaches & Administrators, Floyd Keith was disappointed that $Bill did not interview a single minority candidate before hiring Sherman.

While acknowledging the "current state of minority representation among I-A head coaches and coordinators is a deep embarrassment to the sport and has been for years", Fowler thinks the critisism in this specific case is "off base." He goes on to say that

It has been common knowlege for more than a month, maybe longer, that Dennis Franchione is out. Sherman -- as a former A&M assistant (very important there), a former NFL head coach (Green Bay Packers) and a current NFL coordinator (Houston Texans) -- has a resume that no one, regardless of race or anything else, could come close to.

What should A&M be criticzed for? Not bringing in "candidates" of any color for bogus interviews? That's the kind of charade, a faux interest in a minority candidate to satisfy somebody, that the BCA rightfully has spoken out against. Sherman was Byrne's guy from the start, for his resume. Going outside the Ags' family didn't work with Franchione. It was predictable that Byrne would make this move. He kept it quiet and discreet and handled it well, without a PR flourish.

The BCA really can't be too bothered by that.

I have a hard time wrapping my brain around this one. The racial divide between head coaches and players is pretty obvious, and embarrassing. The problems is that ADs, like $Bill, are not giving these guys an opportunity to compete for the job. That is why the BCA is complaining. But what do you do when $Bill only interviews one guy for the job? Apparently "several African-American coaching candidates were on Bill's list of prospective coaches" and just started from the top. $Bill rivals Dick Cheney in his levels of secrecy, so we will never know if that claim is true.