Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles brushed off questions about race within the NFL during a press conference on Tuesday.
One reporter asked Bowles to comment on the significance of two black head coaches, namely himself and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, coming head-to-head in a game Sunday.
“We don’t look at what color we are when we coach against each other, we just know each other,” Bowles responded. “I have a lot of very good white friends that coach in this league as well. I don’t think it’s a big deal as far as us being — coaching against each other.”
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“We coach ball, we don’t look at color,” Bowles said.
Another reporter followed up with a similar question, asking Bowles to comment on how representation matters in the league.
“When aspiring coaches or even players see you guys — see someone who looks like them, that grew up like them — that has to mean something,” the reporter said.
“Well when you say ‘see you guys’ and ‘look like them’ and ‘grow up like them’ means that we’re oddballs to begin with,” Bowles said. “I think the minute that you guys stop making a big deal about it everybody else will as well.”
Bowles was named the Buccaneers coach this year after coaching the New York Jets from 2015-2018. He previously won the AP Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2015 while with the Arizona Cardinals.
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This press conference came after the game where quarterback Tom Brady kicked Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett
and was subsequently fined $11,000 over the incident.
