Keyshawn Johnson On Bill Belichick To UNC: 'He Better Hire Black Coaches'
12/13/2024 08:48 AM
Unsurprisingly, North Carolina's decision to hire Bill Belichick has dominated the headlines this week.
Some analysts have talked about how weird it'll be to see Belichick handle NIL deals. Others have speculated about whether or not the Super Bowl winner will hand over the program to his son in a few years from now. FS1 personality Keyshawn Johnson, meanwhile, is wondering who'll be added to the legendary coach's staff in the coming weeks.
On Thursday's episode of "Speak," Johnson offered some advice to Belichick. He said Belichick must hire Black coaches in order to have success at North Carolina.
"I'm just going to say it: he better hire some black coaches," Johnson said. "You gotta go into the homes to the momma's and convince, not daddy, mommy, and auntie, that you're going to take care of this kid. It's real talk. I bet that he's smart enough to know that."
.@Keyshawn has a word of advice for Bill Belichick's new staff at North Carolina:
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) December 12, 2024
"I'm just going to say it, he better hire some black coaches." pic.twitter.com/7elhHbmgrK
This advice from Johnson has gone viral in the past 12 hours. He's receiving a decent amount of criticism, but there are a few people who see the point he was trying to make.
"Haha why can't people be hired for their character and job qualifications. Makes zero sense to me," one person argued.
Another fan said, "It's not about race!! Wrong choice of words brother!! Maybe should have said something like 'Should hire coaches that have right culture and skills to propel this team in the right direction.'"
"It's a little out of left field for Keyshawn to bring it up like this," a third fan said. "But he's speaking truth about recruiting, this isn't a 'hire black coached for equity reasons' argument, he's saying if he wants to recruit well he needs to hire black coaches. This is a valid point."
It'll be fascinating to see how Belichick handles his staff at UNC. If we had to guess, he won't just run this operation like it's the NFL.
Belichick has already announced that North Carolina interim coach Freddie Kitchens will remain on the staff. That's the first official move he's made.
We'll find out who'll be joining Belichick in Chapel Hill over the next few weeks.
Related: Bill Belichick's Girlfriend Has 5-Word Reaction To The UNC Job
