Thursday night’s matchup between head coaches James Franklin and Marcus Freeman in the Orange Bowl will be the first College Football Playoff semifinal game to feature two Black head coaches. The winner will then, of course, be the first black head coach to compete for the national title. Franklin and Freeman say they don’t take the opportunity for granted and hope a game like this will help open more doors for Black football coaches at all levels of college football in the future. “I hope a game like ours can have an impact and I’m really just looking for an opportunity for the boys to reach out to search firms and sporting directors and get the chances they deserve. I don’t take this lightly,” Franklin said. “If this creates more opportunities for other coaches, other minority coaches, that’s great. It’s great. It’s great for future generations of coaches, college football coaches and executives. And that’s why I’m all for it. “I’m grateful to be a part of it,” Freeman said. Make history in Miami in 2025.