Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin paused for a moment to think while speaking to a reporter after a practice this season. “Now that you mention it,” McLaurin said, "I’ve never had a Black head coach in high school,

With a growing number of Black head coaches on NFL sidelines, Black players are encouraged by the progress, but they would like for it to continue moving forward. The Associated Press conducted a survey of Black players,

More than a third of Black NFL players who responded to questions from the AP about the state of Black head coaches around the league were discouraged or disappointed by the current numbers

Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton took note when two of the three Black first-year full-time head coaches in the NFL were fired: Jerod Mayo by the New England Patriots immediately after the final regular-season game, and Antonio Pierce by the Las Vegas Raiders two days later.

An Associated Press survey of more than 65 Black players from 25 NFL teams found that about 36% were discouraged or disappointed by the number of Black coaches in the league.