Recent ESPN articles have dropped two hidden bombshells about the San Francisco 49ers, including a potential Tom Brady pursuit and another anecdote bigger than the featured story on head coach Kyle Shanahan. Surprisingly, even though the author(s) likely didn’t intend to downplay it, these interesting details appeared as casual remarks in prominent ESPN features.
Seth Wickersham’s recent profile of Shanahan revealed that some NFL owners have expressed concerns about the number of compensatory picks the team has received for developing minority coaches and executives.
“We know he can hire well and diverse; in fact, owners have complained to the league office about the sheer number of compensatory picks the 49ers have received for serving as a pipeline for coaches and executives of color.”
Just casually dropping this nugget.
Fucking WHAT https://t.co/bOCvch9q8V pic.twitter.com/bxWQUDIr8O
— Rich (@richjmadrid) February 7, 2024
Imagine if, instead of complaining, these NFL owners congratulated the 49ers on their coaching diversity and the success their minority coaches have had at the highest levels in the NFL and tried to emulate them.
Imagine.
49ers stay winning and I’m hopeful this energy flips. https://t.co/XYgHH4eIsE
— Lydia (@limajuliettango) February 8, 2024
“The 49ers are getting too many comp picks!”
HOW ABOUT YOU FUCKING HIRE MINORITY CANDIDATES THEN https://t.co/iJ0lUQB2gs
— Evan Sowards (@EvanSowards) February 7, 2024
https://twitter.com/Agent_00bondjr/status/1755266209896140860
The NFL — and its owners — introduced a policy in 2020 to encourage the development of diverse coaching and front-office talent. This rule, which let us remind you, was voted on and agreed upon by the league’s 32 owners; it awards compensatory draft picks to teams that cultivate POC candidates who become head coaches or general managers elsewhere.
The San Francisco 49ers have demonstrably benefited from this initiative.
Nothing is stopping other NFL teams from doing the same.
Since the 2020 rule change, the San Francisco 49ers have witnessed the departures of five talented individuals to prominent leadership positions across the NFL, including Robert Saleh (New York Jets), Martin Mayhew (Washington Commanders), Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins), Ran Carthon (Tennessee Titans) and DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans). Each departure resulted in compensatory draft picks for the 49ers, reflecting their commitment to developing diverse coaching and front-office talent.
But that doesn’t sit well with the rest of the league. And while the 49ers have stood to benefit, and it speaks a lot to Shanahan and general manager John Lynch’s character and willingness to diversify their respective staffs, perhaps the bigger story isn’t that they’re doing the right thing. The bigger story here is that owners are complaining about the league’s efforts to become more diverse, and quite honestly, it stands to reason that it will be a more prominent feature than anything written on Shanahan.
It’s unlikely Wickersham meant to downplay this, but it’s, interestingly, in similar buried details about the 49ers that have appeared in other recent ESPN articles. Despite initially being behind an ESPN+ paywall, the nugget about the 49ers and owners being upset about their diversity initiatives has sparked intense discussion across social media and sports media circles, further highlighting the growing attention surrounding diversity initiatives in the NFL.
Report: Some owners have complained to the league office about the 49ers' compensatory picks for developing minority coaches and front office executives. https://t.co/Pb0xF2bgW4
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 7, 2024
And it shouldn’t stand as a surprise, much if any, in the media, as the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, was once again questioned for the lack of diversity in the NFL media.
While the focus shying away from that nugget in the article may not have been intentional, the underlying issue of NFL owners criticizing diversity efforts while benefiting from them deserves deeper exploration. Wickersham’s sourcing suggests potential grounds for a dedicated piece calling out this inconsistency. Exposing owners who complain about POC receiving opportunities while the 49ers demonstrate tangible benefits goes beyond good PR; it highlights systemic issues within the league.
Importantly, replicating the 49ers’ approach remains available to all teams.
The buried nugget in Wickersham’s article exposes a complex truth about the NFL’s journey toward diversity. Until all teams actively participate in dismantling systemic barriers, the bigger story won’t be about draft picks or individual success but about a league struggling to live up to its ideals.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.