Racial double standards set for Arizona Cardinals' Jonathan Gannon, ASU's Kenny Dillingham

You want to know why Black fans get so frustrated with sports that they turn off their TVs and go do yardwork on the weekends?

Look no further than the state of Arizona, where a couple of young white guys are getting free passes that a couple of old Black guys who came before them never could have dreamed of.

The Arizona Cardinals cut veteran quarterback Colt McCoy just a day after Arizona State announced a self-imposed ban on post-season play for its football program.

Translation: Neither Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon nor ASU coach Kenny Dillingham is expected to win jack or squat this season, but fans are expected to buy in to watch them “build for the future.”

In sports’ speak, “build for the future” means “lose way more often than not.”

McCoy has been in the NFL since 2010. He doesn’t have the strongest arm or the fastest legs, but he gives any team he plays for a chance to win with the proper gameplan.

His likely successor, rookie Clay Tune, can run and throw with the best of them, but couldn’t pick up a blitzing linebacker with a forklift.

We could give Gannon the benefit of the doubt in selecting the player who gives him the best chance to win, except we saw Tune in three preseason games. The guy tries hard, but he’s not ready yet.

More: Arizona Cardinals release quarterback Colt McCoy as NFL roster cuts begin

Maybe Tune does things in practice or the film room that we don’t know about? Maybe newly acquired Josh Dobbs will be ready to go by Week 1? Or maybe this is just the cover that Gannon needs to mask the reality that he’s in over his head?

What we know for sure is that Steve Wilks was saddled with a veteran quarterback who had lost plenty of steps by the time he put on a white helmet (Sam Bradford) plus a rookie (Josh Rosen) who looked so clueless that he couldn’t have played any worse with his helmet on backward.

Wilks was expected to win and was fired after just one season.

Gannon? The season hasn’t even started and already it’s, “We’ll get ’em next year.”

As for Dillingham, he’s under no pressure now that his program can’t play in a bowl game at the end of the season.

This also makes his job easier next year. Bowl games come with extra practice time that allows coaches to get a head start on preparation for the upcoming season. Without this, he’s got another built-in excuse.

Dillingham has no experience as a head coach. (Not in real life, anyway. Who knows? The guy might be an ace on his Xbox or PlayStation.) But we certainly don’t hear or feel any of the thundering avalanche of criticism that put Herm Edwards, a sidelines veteran, under surveillance from the moment his hiring was announced.

More: Arizona State's Ray Anderson, Michael Crow face backlash after college football bowl ban

For whatever its worth, I like and respect Gannon and Dillingham. They both seem confident and competent.

But for them to get paternalistic pats on the head is patently problematic.

Wilks didn’t get off easy. Why should Gannon?

Edwards faced pressure right away. Why shouldn’t Dillingham?

Do these guys really need preferential treatment? If they do, does that call into question whether they were ever really qualified in the first place? Does anyone else around here see these blatant double standards for what they are? Or am I the only one?

Here’s hoping I’m wrong and that each coach does such a fine job that their teams exceed all reasonable expectations, which were pretty low even before they were granted extensions on their final exams before their first assignments were even due.

But the fact remains that the young white guys are getting treated way differently than the old Black guys.

And that’s why so many fans who look like me watch sports from a place of detached indifference.

You want your entire fanbase to be passionate?

Demand that your coaches win, and hold them ALL to the same standard.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Racial double standards set for new Cardinals, ASU football coaches