On Friday we wrote about the phenomenon of coaches wanting to say something about the murder of George Floyd and what it says about American society, only not knowing what to say -- or if they should speak at all.
“Football coaches are in a position to be advocates,” a Power 5 recruiting director, who is black, told me. “The way they view black people is different than most people do, with the way sports brings people of all backgrounds together toward a common goal. It’s not just student-athletes, it’s your assistant coaches and the people in your building. Coaches and athletes at this level, some of your best friends are going to be black. They know our character much better than the general population.”
A black Power 5 assistant put it bluntly when he said this: “For so long, there have been these obvious injustices. Things that are either right or wrong, good or bad. LeBron James speaks out about Trayvon Martin, it just doesn’t have the same impact as if it’s Tom Brady. If I’m on the Minnesota Vikings, all I need is the white guys in the locker room to feel the same way I feel."
By Saturday, the moment had changed. As protests raged across the country and it became clear Floyd's killing was a moment that will be remembered in this country's history, coaches across the country began releasing statements on the killing.
Here, in no particular order, is our attempt to capture all of them.
We'll start with UMass head coach Walt Bell
Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins
Miami head coach Manny Diaz
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown
Georgia Southern head coach Chad Lunsford
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said this on the Rich EisenShow on Thursday: “Today I’ll tell you what, I’m really very upset about the George Floyd death. That’s got me preoccupied today. Horrendous. I’m just watching right now and looking forward to there being an investigation and waiting for charges. That’s completely outrageous.” Albany head coach Greg Gattuso
Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck. (Minnesota has severed its relationship with the Minnesota Police Department.)
Former Georgia Tech, Alabama and Kentucky head coach Bill Curry
A thread from Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason
Indiana head coach Tom Allen
Texas head coach Tom Herman
Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells
North Texas head coach Seth Littrell
Mizzou head coach Eliah Drinkwitz
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day
Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal
Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker
Penn State head coach James Franklin
Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp retweeted this message from South Carolina governor Henry McMaster. East Carolina head coach Mike Houston retweeted this message from ECU running backs coach DeRail Sims App State head coach Shawn Clark
Washington head coach Jimmy Lake
Maryland head coach Mike Locksley
Kent State head coach Sean Lewis
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly
Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald
Ball State head coach Mike Neu
Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne
Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler
Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield
Buffalo head coach Lance Leipold
Colorado State head coach Steve Addazio Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson
Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm
NC State head coach Dave Doeren
Kansas head coach Les Miles
South Florida head coach Jeff Scott
Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen
USC head coach Clay Helton
West Virginia head coach Neal Brown
Stephen F. Austin head coach Colby Carthel
Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher
Baylor head coach Dave Aranda
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart
Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin
Nevada head coach Jay Norvell
Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo
Miami (Ohio) head coach Chuck Martin
Alabama head coach Nick Saban
Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens
Princeton head coach Bob Surace
Penn head coach Ray Priore
Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall
Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell
Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman
Harvard head coach Tim Murphy
Florida head coach Dan Mullen
TCU head coach Gary Patterson
Yale head coach Tony Reno
William & Mary head coach Mike London
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney
North Dakota head coach Bubba Schweigert
Nebraska head coach Scott Frost
Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst
UCLA head coach Chip Kelly
Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox
Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith
Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich
Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell
Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin
UCF head coach Josh Heupel
Ohio head coach Frank Solich
FIU head coach Butch Davis
Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz
UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo
Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill
Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Billy Napier
Akron head coach Tom Arth
Texas State head coach Jake Spavital
Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester
San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan
Temple head coach Rod Carey
Marshall head coach Doc Holliday
Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson
Several head coaches retweeted or quote tweeted this statement from Tony Dungy.
Troy head coach Chip Lindsey
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin
Florida State head coach Mike Norvell
UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor
If we missed anyone, please let us know.