Stephen A. Smith made an outlandish claim Monday that the Commanders’ hiring of Kliff Kingsbury was based purely on his relationship with management and that this “is the kind of stuff that doesn’t happen for Black folks.”

Smith makes this claim even though the Falcons just hired Raheem Morris, who is black, over Bill Belichick, who is widely regarded as the greatest coach of all time, at least in part because of his prior relationship with the team.

Stephen A. Smith on Kliff Kingsbury getting jobs based on his relationships and not his football resume: “This is the kind of stuff that doesn’t happen for Black folks.”

(h/t @awfulannouncing)pic.twitter.com/LTYw41iHrR https://t.co/24Mfx6Po4j

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 5, 2024

Morris served as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2020. He also spent six seasons moving through the organization’s ranks in various assistant coaching roles, something the team noted in the statement owner Arthur Blank released when he hired Morris in January. (RELATED: ‘Blessed To Feel Your Passion And Your Power’: Coach Bill Belichick Takes Full-Page Ad To Thank Fans)

And by the way, relationship with management or not, Morris is a deserving candidate. He’s helmed several outstanding defenses in his career, including a Super Bowl-winning one in Los Angeles. But he also beat out the GOAT of coaching, Bill Belichick, for the job.

One has to believe that familiarity has to have at least played some part in that. In a hiring environment where it appears ownership groups prefer either malleable newcomers or amicable old friends over firebrands and control freaks like Mike Vrabel or Belichick, familiarity clearly serves to benefit Morris and others.