As the Buffalo Bills commence the search for the teams’ next head coach, owner Ralph Willson apparently was trying to line up the team’s next head coach even before the most recent head coach was fired.
According to WIVB-TV, the Bills “went after [Jon Gruden] hard.” The efforts reportedly included a face-to-face meeting.
Given that Dick Jauron was fired on Tuesday and Gruden signed a supposedly “exclusive” contract extension on Monday, it’s possible that the face-to-face meeting occurred before Jauron was fired.
It’s also possible that Gruden met with the Bills regarding their coaching vacancy after Jauron was fired — and thus after Gruden signed his supposedly “exclusive” deal.
If the report of the team’s effort to land Gruden is accurate, the Bills would have at a minimum violated the spirit of the Rooney Rule, since any interview of a minority candidate that would have occurred if Gruden had tentatively accepted the offer would have been a sham aimed merely at complying with the letter of the mandate.
That’s what I’m not getting. Why would he bother? Gruden could wait and get a much better team. Not a team that is years from being competitive. That’s like one of the other big names considering going to DC and rotting with the skins.
“the Bills would have at a minimum violated the spirit of the Rooney Rule, since any interview of a minority candidate that would have occurred if Gruden had tentatively accepted the offer would have been a sham aimed merely at complying with the letter of the mandate”
WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO TRY AND STIR UP SHIT?!?!
There should be no Rooney Rule what BS. Hire what coach you want.
The Rooney Rule is a sham anyway. It’s heart is in the right place, but the ones interviewed either had the job anyway or are just there for the rule.
No violation. Gruden is a minority. He’s a guy that
actually won a game while coaching the Raiders
So then according to you by the Rooney rule the first candidate must be a minority?
Even if the obvious best choice might be white?
Then it is a dumb ass rule.
The Rooney rule is stupid in this day and age.
Minorities aren’t getting opportunities to coach? No? Instead they’re making millions as players instead.
And at what point do racial quotas and affirmative action reverse in the NFL?
Perhaps instead of handicapping choices in management, we should apply that to players too? Each team should have to have a certain number of white guys, you know?
Yeah, ridiculous, and hopefully illustrates my point.
the Bills would have at a minimum violated the spirit of the Rooney Rule
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10,000 comedians out of work and we have you.
All teams violate the spirit of the Rooney Rule. Affirmative action is a joke and always has been.
Oh my drooping, cockeyed Christ. Can you IMAGINE what people would be saying if it were the Patriots? *shudder*
Funny how “media darling teams” Miami and Dallas can get around this.
I don’t know if Gruden is the guy you want to rebuild a team. I love what he did for my Bucs, but I think he’s more suited to take an already-talented team that’s currently under-coached. Like the Cowboys or Chargers.
I love the rule that teams must follow of interviewing a certain number of minority candidates before hiring who they want. Imagine if NBA teams had to give private workouts and interviews to white players before hiring a player on their team…..even if the player they knew they wanted was black. Imagine the uproar. 21% of NBA players are white. This is a much lower percentage than the overall white population in the US but you don’t see white people claiming that the NBA is racist. The race card is getting VERY old. Hmm could it be possible that players are hired based on talent….and that coaches are hired based on talent.
Hey dumbass, they interviewed Perry Fewell for the job. UGH
Its no wonder you are no longer in the legal profession, and have tried to become the NFL’s Perez Hilton.
There would have been no violation of the Rooney Rule.
Gruden would have been hired as a “consultant” with a provision in his contract that would make him the next head coach.
Then, Jauron would have been fired.
Boom…. roasted.
“the Bills would have at a minimum violated the spirit of the Rooney Rule, since any interview of a minority candidate that would have occurred if Gruden had tentatively accepted the offer would have been a sham aimed merely at complying with the letter of the mandate”
florio you are a rat. you always look for some minor negative in everything just to be a douchebag.
Idle, negative speculation. Irresponsible– you don’t know if Gruden was interviewed for certain. You don’t know whether or no a minority candidate was interviewed already or not. And yet you imply possible violation of the Rooney Rule? This time you are shouting “fire” in the theatre, Mike. Print a retraction.
This Rooney Rule is a joke. How about we start applying racial quotas to players too? Isn’t it time we had an Asian QB?
Rooney rule has always been a dumbass rule. I like the comment “its heart is in the right place.”
If you judge a rule by its heart, its usually a dumbass rule.
He’s a ginger, that counts as a minority, right?
BTW, the rooney rule is a good rule, and I think anyone overtly against it are mostly out of touch white football fans.
There are so many black players underconsideration AND a good ammount of black asst coaches out there that interviewing black / minority candidates makes sense.
There wouldn’t have to be a rule is the NFL wasn’t such an old boys club with its WASP bias.
Rooney is a good guy, the Rooney rule is a good rule, and this comes from a Ravens fan that HATES the Steelers.
The “spirit” of the Rooney Rule is that when interviewing candidates for a coaching position, an owner should interview at least one minority.
But when an owner WANTS a specific guy, he’s NOT interviewing ANYbody, and the rule shouldn’t apply. It should only apply to vacancies where the team is interviewing multiple candidates, not when they have handpicked a coach without interviewing any others.
It’s a sham anyway. The spirit of the rule is flawed.
Requiring a team to play “interview hopscotch” when a commodity like Gruden, Shanny, Holmgren or The Chin is ready to sign with your team is plain silly.
Did Tomlin, Lovie Smith or Dungy get jobs because they were given a chance to interview due to the Rooney rule? No. They rose through the ranks because they’re talented.
Krow says:
November 21, 2009 5:51 AM
This Rooney Rule is a joke. How about we start applying racial quotas to players too? Isn’t it time we had an Asian QB?
We had Timmy Chang. He sucked.
TimeT says:
Did Tomlin, Lovie Smith or Dungy get jobs because they were given a chance to interview due to the Rooney rule? No. They rose through the ranks because they’re talented.
The story goes that Tomlin only got his interview to satisfy the Rooney Rule, because they wanted to hire Russ Grimm (Or was it Wisenhunt? One of the two) and had already published pictures naming them as the coach. When they interviewed Tomlin they were blown away and hired him instead.
First Off, let me say that I’m a white-male who is in complete favor of Equal Rights … BUTt!
The Rooney Rule was too late in it’s implementation and now the world has flipped. The whole idea of possible “reverse discrimination” is now a misnomer.
If this type of discrimination is to be implemented to punish rather than correct, then I’d say it’s getting the job done. However, there are so many real life scenarios now to where caucasian males are actually excluded from recruitment/service that these rules truly are punishment rather than a corrective action.
There is much more in play than the race … or even gender cards. Those two cards seem to trump all others in too many instances! Gruden’s scenario is absolutely a VALID scenario where such rules need to be abolished.
If Ralph Wilson (being of sound mind {!?!}) had decreed that Gruden was his man and negotiating against ESPN, which was time sensitive then the SPIRIT of the Roonie Rule is extremely flawed in that it creates a very large competitive disadvantage!
I’m against discrimination PERIOD !!!
This “Rooney Rule” is freaken stupid. If someone wants to hire somebody based on their credentials, they should be allowed. They shouldn’t have to interview people they don’t want. Thats quite stupid. Gruden, Holmgren, Shanahan, Cowher, they have all been to the big dance and won. I’d hire one of them before I’d hire somebody else.
F*CK THE ROONEY RULE…Its a farce and does not accomplish what its intended to in the first place.
It should have been written into the Rooney Rule that it expires when a black man is elected president of the United States, as maybe there are milestones more important then NFL coaching demographics.
That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
The Bills already have a crappy QB situation. What would Gruden have left to do?
” I’m never more stimulated than when I think of football in Buffalo ! It’s a great city, with great fans, great ownership, and great tradition ! There aren’t many fan bases who bring the noise like these fans ! Even the snow in Buffalo is greater than the snow anywhere else. It’s great snow ! However, I’m not interested “…..Jon Gruden
Here’s something I don’t get about The Rooney Rule.
African Americans make up 13% of our population.
African American Head Coaches make up 18.75% of head coaches in the NFL.
The argument is that 65% of the players are black, so it’s out of proportion.
But doesn’t that mean teams should actually be forced to tryout more white players?
Rob Noxious says: November 21, 2009 12:24 AM
The Rooney rule is stupid in this day and age.
Minorities aren’t getting opportunities to coach? No? Instead they’re making millions as players instead.
And at what point do racial quotas and affirmative action reverse in the NFL?
Perhaps instead of handicapping choices in management, we should apply that to players too? Each team should have to have a certain number of white guys, you know?
Yeah, ridiculous, and hopefully illustrates my point.
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You’re like the morons who complain that there’s not a “White Entertainment Television” channel. You’re point is ignorant because it’s ignoring the systematic marginalization of African Americans by the United States Government. Get a library card, open your mind, and learn something….
“Funny how “media darling teams” Miami and Dallas can get around this. ”
Actually, you might want to go back and check, but minorities WERE interviewed for the Dolphins’ coaching position.
savagenation says:
November 21, 2009 12:16 AM
No violation. Gruden is a minority. He’s a guy that
actually won a game while coaching the Raiders
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Absolutely hilarious. Good job!
Hey ralph ,Wade Phillips will be available after Romo chokes again you guys can have that loser back and take Romo with you.
Having that high maintenance, low productive WR on the roster sure does make the job appealing to a good coach, right?
TFBuckFutter says:
November 21, 2009 10:39 AM
Here’s something I don’t get about The Rooney Rule.
African Americans make up 13% of our population.
African American Head Coaches make up 18.75% of head coaches in the NFL.
The argument is that 65% of the players are black, so it’s out of proportion.
But doesn’t that mean teams should actually be forced to tryout more white players?
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Bingo.
I was just going to make this point. There’s always this guilty, white, P.C. argument thrown out there that it’s shameful how blacks are underrepresented as NFL coaches, yet as you point out 18.75% of the coaches are black while only 13% of the population is.
And I know it’s supposedly racist to say that blacks have some sort of genetic or evolutionary advantage in sports that require quick, explosive movements (football, basketball, sprinting, etc.), but it’s hard to believe that’s not true. Look at the WR/CB/RB positions in the NFL and tell me if you see a trend. Look at the starting blocks of an elite 100-yard dash race. Look at any NBA roster. Let’s be honest here.
But those same athletic advantages have nothing to do with coaching ability. So it makes far more sense for the percent of black head coaches to be in proportion to the percent of black people living in America.
Re: “since any interview of a minority candidate that would have occurred if Gruden had tentatively accepted the offer”
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Is there going to be a Rooney rule in reverse for players? It’s only fair now for the “minority of players” to be given a fair shot to make a roster in today’s NFL!
Otherwise it is an obvious double-standard!
rolltide says:
It should have been written into the Rooney Rule that it expires when a black man is elected president of the United States
–
BUT what is the very first thing Obama did after getting elected? He appointed ROONEY Ambassador to Ireland!
AutumnWind999, I was saying that tongue-in-cheek (although now I reread it and realize it does come off as somewhat white-powery). If anything the proportion is fine because football players as a whole are generally dumber than shit, and most qualified coaching candidates don’t have a whole lot of experience as players and when they do, they have a more intellectual approach to the game than “hit that guy” and “run that way.”
So, I’d rather you not agree with me, thanks.
As for the genetic or evolution….it has more to do with exposure than with genetics. African Americans excel at sports that are accessible to them, as do whites. That’s why there are a lot more white hockey players than black, and the reverse is true of basketball. And those are two of the most demanding athletic endeavors one can undertake, and pretty much equally so.
Yes there is a growing sentiment in this country about reverse discrimination for whites in this country, and i’m sure your’e African American and don’t see this, Conveniently you don’t see all the ways our government has catered to you. I had nothing to do with Slavery,i had nothing to do with Segregation,and was brought up in a family with no prejiduces. But every time I have to hear your Race whine about they’re treatment it makes me want to vomit, excuse after excuse enough already ,grow up!!!!!!
Meghan Fox is my first choice for a mate, but I have about as much chance of landing her as the Bills do of getting Gruden.
Nice to have favorites, and all but…
I don’t think the spirit of the rule is violated at all. The rule exists to ensure that minorities get interviewed. That’s it. The spirit of the rule and the rule itself are entirely the same thing.
If the spirit of the rule was to increase the percentage of minorities in front office or coaching jobs, then the rule would be different. It should be obvious that the people who drafted the rule would have anticipated situations where a team had made up its mind prior to starting the interview process. And they didn’t change the rule did they? No. They didn’t.
The rule basically helps open the crack of the door a little bit. It doesn’t give jobs to minorities. It just gives them the opportunity to make their pitch. If they want to convince owners that they’re the right person for the job they’ll have to earn it like everyone else. And you’ll note that a few minorities have done just that and won jobs over the people who were favorites. Mike Tomlin comes to mind. So maybe the rule is actually working just fine. Maybe it does strike the right balance between opportunity and earned.
Who wants to takeover for a winning successful team? Give me the Skins, Raiders (Sans Al Davis), or Buffalo. I would rather go in and try to create something special than take over and try to maintain a successful team. Dungy casts a big shadow in Indianapolis!
Affirmative action, in any form, is forced and stupid. It either gets subverted by a strategy, or repealed as a law.
Hell, even the whacked out state of Cali got rid of it.
Affirmative action is the grown up equivalent of giving all the kids trophies for “particpation”.
The Rooney Rule is a form of Affirm. Action and is currently just being worked around in the NFL, and it should as THE BEST CANDIDATE, AS DECIDED ON BY THE MAN WHO SIGNS THE CHECKS WILL BE HIRED.
Slow Joe you gotta be kidding about Gruden. He won a Super Bowl with Dungys players. I lived in St Pete as that whole episode unfolded. What did he win after that? What did he win in Oakland? Jon Gruden is right where he belongs, behind a mike shooting his bull mouth and getting paid for it. Remember when he said if the Bucs would win another SB he would run naked through Tampa?
Well he didn’t get the chance. The rich owners in Tampa finally woke up to the fact that letting Dungy go was a mistake they paid for dearly. The Bucs are headed back to the seventies. Gruden isn’t headed back to coaching anytime soon.
Joeboo your right. Dungy casts a big shadow in Indianapolis. So good and so big that Jim Caldwell is 9-0, in good hands with an organization in fine quality and quantity to coach. I dont think Caldwell would care for the skins, raiders or bills, do you?
“uncommonjohn says:
November 21, 2009 3:31 PM
Well he didn’t get the chance. The rich owners in Tampa finally woke up to the fact that letting Dungy go was a mistake they paid for dearly. The Bucs are headed back to the seventies. Gruden isn’t headed back to coaching anytime soon.”
To be fair…..Dungy didn’t win any more in Tampa than Jon won in Oakland. And Dungy didn’t win any more in Indianapolis than Jon did in Tampa (Talking championships, not regular season)…..
I think that if Gruden had the same offensive parts as Dungy had to work with in Indy, he probably would have more than a single ring. And if Dungy had remained in Tampa, he wouldn’t even have one.
As for the genetic or evolution….it has more to do with exposure than with genetics. African Americans excel at sports that are accessible to them, as do whites. That’s why there are a lot more white hockey players than black, and the reverse is true of basketball. And those are two of the most demanding athletic endeavors one can undertake, and pretty much equally so.
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A valid point about hockey, but basketball isn’t accessible to whites? A 100-meter space to sprint on isn’t accessible to whites? There aren’t white halfbacks, receivers and cornerbacks at tons of high schools around the country?
Your argument is the one typically trotted out by political correctness enthusiasts to explain this statistical irregularity but you and I and everyone else living in reality knows it’s bogus.
I don’t understand why it’s considered racist by many to point out the obvious and say that black people seem to have evolved in a way that more commonly gives them more of the explosive athletic traits than whites and people of other races. I don’t think people really know why it’s racist. I guess it’s just that race is such a sensitive issue that calling people racists anytime they approach the subject is a sort of national pastime in itself.
It’s all silliness though. Let’s just be honest and a lot of our problems with race would be quicker to clear up.
“AutumnWind999 says:
November 22, 2009 1:27 AM
A valid point about hockey, but basketball isn’t accessible to whites? A 100-meter space to sprint on isn’t accessible to whites? There aren’t white halfbacks, receivers and cornerbacks at tons of high schools around the country?”
Whites generally have more exposure to other activities whereas in urban or very rural areas, kids are limited to sports that don’t require much initial investment (Football and basketball all you need is a ball, running you don’t need shit)…..
Why do you think you don’t see many professional football players, white or black, coming out of Grenwich Connecticut? Instead they are coming out of Miami, or Los Angeles, or Kansas.
If Florio didn’t stir ‘feces’, what the heck would you guys have to write about? Give him some love if for no other reason he gives you a reason to vent and get some of that hostility out of your inner psyche. You go, Florio.
Sincerely yours,
A passionate female football fan over 60
(Go Brett and the Vikings)