'I Feel The Angst': Cowboys Joe Whitt Jr. on Black Coaches in NFL

FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys secondary coach and defensive passing game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. has often talked of his father as a mentor. He's discussed with CowboysSI.com his relationship with Dallas defensive boss Dan Quinn is glowing terms. And this week, as on of the 40 NFL assistants participating in the Coach Accelerator program, he's talking about once having worked under Emmitt Thomas, remembering how "positive he was in developing and growing a lot of us younger Black coaches.

“At the same time,” Whitt said Monday in an interview on NFL Network (hat-tip CowboysWire), there were a number of coaches that were older that were just upset. And I didn’t understand, just coming from college, why were they so upset? Now, this being Year 17 for me, I can sort of feel the angst of what they had, not having some of the opportunities.”

That "angst'' is part of the reason for the Accelerator program, designed to aide minorities in the NFL by increasing their networking, dialogue and interaction with the league's power brokers.

The lack of representation among NFL head coaches continues to be an issue in a league in which the players are mostly Black, while only a handful of teams - The Steelers (Mike Tomlin), Buccaneers (Todd Bowles), Texans (DeMeco Ryans), Commanders (Ron Rivera) and Dolphins (Mike McDaniel) - employ head coaches who are people of color.

Whitt, 44, has a background that connects him to both Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy (in Green Bay) and Quinn (from their time in Atlanta). He has in recent years garnered some attention as a coordinator candidate, and a year ago he made it clear to us how happy he is working at The Star.

“It’s partly about working for that man,” Whitt Jr. told CowboysSI.com, speaking of Quinn. “He’s a bright, shining light to work for and to work with. During tough times, his light shows the way.”

And, he added of his Cowboys-related childhood dream, “It’s that star. It is just something I wanted to do.”

But Whitt has also now built his own qualifications, as have many others who are working in this program (the other Dallas assistant involved this year is defensive line coach Aden Durde).

Veteran @dallascowboys secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. dropped some incredible perspective to @judybattista and me on the NFL Accelerator program. Also, why defensive-minded coaches could besr serve the overall well-being of the team. This is great stuff. pic.twitter.com/g3PnYPNick
— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) May 22, 2023

“There’s a room full of men in there that are very talented, very positive, and we just want the same opportunity that our counterparts are getting,” Whitt said. “This gives us the ability to get around the owners, and for the owners to get comfortable with us- not just necessarily on the field but have a Sunday breakfast with them.”

Whitt also noted that defensive coaches need to be recognized as head coaching candidates, just as their offensive counterparts (often coaches with a singular quarterback-related focus) are.

“When you have to handle the whole team and whole room, that’s a different dynamic, and I think we have an advantage that the owners or the powers that be need to understand,'' Whitt said. "We are leaders of men, not leaders of one.”

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