Herm Edwards Was born April 27, 1954 in Monmouth New Jersey . Herm Edwards became The only fifth African-American leader of of a national football league Franchise when h took over as head coach in 2001. His parents where an interracial couple at a time where such unions were rare and even illegal in some african states. Edwards devoted himself in football from an early age. He was an outstanding athlete at Monterey High School, and went on to play for Monterey Peninsula college. Eventually he transferred to San Diego State University, Where he earned a Degree in Criminal Justice in 1975. Btpassed in the NFL draft pick, he was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977. Edwards arrived at the Eagles training camp along with 20 other rookies hoping for a defencive-…show more content… He was also the first Black to coach a pro football team in New York. In recent years, Dungy and others had spoken out about the dearth of coaching positions held by minorities in the league, in an era when nearly 70 percent of the players were African American. NFL brass had recently taken measures to remedy the imbalance, but pundits conceded that despite the political significance of the offer, Edwards seemed to have won the job because of his impressive record with the Bucs. Edwards enjoyed a terrific first season, with the Jets finishing with ten wins and six losses, and he became the tenth rookie head coach in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs. But the Jets have checkered history and are known for their spotty years combined with playoff-berth seasons, and had not even appeared in a Super Bowl since their 1969 win. They finished the 2002 season with a record of nine-wins, seven-losses, but sank to a record of six-wins and ten-losses in 2003 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since Edwards took
