New Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was asked about his racial identity during his introductory news conference on Thursday.
The 38-year-old former 49ers offensive coordinator's candidacy, and eventual hiring by Miami, came under scrutiny in recent weeks, after it was revealed he is in fact biracial.
The story first surfaced after an ill-fated Deadspin article dismissed McDaniel as yet another unqualified white candidate skipping the line, later prompting a rather embarrassing correction.
On Thursday, a reporter asked McDaniel about the episode, per Pro Football Talk.
“It’s been very odd, to tell you the truth, this idea of ‘identifying’ as something,” McDaniel said. “I think people identify me as something, but I identify as a human being, and my dad is Black.
"So whatever you want to call it, I know there’s a lot of people with a shared experience. It’s weird that it comes up, because I’ve just tried to be a good person. And I think my background opens my eyes a little bit. I don’t have any real experience with racism, because I think you identify me as something close to — I don’t know."
McDaniel's apparent reluctance to identify as Black has prompted fierce debate about diversity, colorism, the spirit of the NFL's infamous Rooney Rule, and the concept of lighter-skinned Black people "passing" as white -- a topic that has seen renewed interest following the release of the Netflix-produced drama Passing, based on the acclaimed 1929 novel of the same name by Harlem Renaissance author Nella Larsen.
After indicating he hadn't been the target of discrimination first-hand, McDaniel said it was something he'd experienced through his family.
'I know my mom experienced it when she married my dad," he said. "I know my dad experienced it, so that’s in my family. But I guess that makes me a human being that can identify with other people’s problems.”
Under the aforementioned Rooney Rule, which was created to level the playing field for Black and minority coaches, the 49ers were set to be awarded draft-pick compensation.
The stipulation is meant to incentivize teams to hire and develop diverse staffs that will eventually yield diverse head-coaching candidates.
McDaniel is one of two minority head-coaching hires this cycle, along with Lovie Smith of the Texans. Smith was promoted from defensive coordinator to succeed former head coach David Culley, dismissed after one season due to "philosophical differences."
Snubbed yet again was Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, while former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who brought a racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, was passed over after interviewing with the Texans, Saints and Giants.
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