Comments on: Kremer: Redskins interviewed Gray to comply with Rooney Rule

By: Adam-Chris Scheftersen

Adam-Chris Scheftersen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:52:53 +0000

Stet Sports Blog says:
December 28, 2009 7:00 PM
Will one of you buffoons in opposition of the Rooney Rule care to describe steps to ensure that minority candidates have access to equitable selection and hiring processes?
Or is it, “aren’t they happy that we let them on the field?”
——————————
How about someone compiles some data to suggest that the Rooney Rule is needed at all? That’s the first step.

By: Stet Sports Blog

Stet Sports Blog — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:00:09 +0000

Will one of you buffoons in opposition of the Rooney Rule care to describe steps to ensure that minority candidates have access to equitable selection and hiring processes?
Or is it, “aren’t they happy that we let them on the field?”

By: texasPHINSfan

texasPHINSfan — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:29:51 +0000

This is retarded. First they create a stupid rule to perpetuate racism (even though it’s thinly veiled at creating the impression that it’s to “prevent” racism. :rolleyes:). Then the team *complies* with the rule, but now you’re picking it apart as not “legitimate”? You make a rule, if they have to “follow” it, they will. You can’t make them be genuine in their efforts.
The whole thing is very stupid. There is no other job in the world that I know of where this law exists. If I’m a private business owner, I would not want some other entity telling me who I can and cannot hire. It’s MY organization, I want to hire who I want to hire. The best man for the job will pique my interest and that is who I will pursue. When the public owns a franchise, the public can make decisions like this.
Right now the Rooney Rule is straight-up racism. I like the poster who recommended we require a similar rule for white football players. See how stupid that is? Same thing. Either go all-out or not at all. Enough of this half-ass crap.

By: Wiscdave

Wiscdave — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:28:40 +0000

Snyder’s behavior shows that the League’s enforcement of the Rooney Rule is a charade. Do they need the rule? They do until nonwhite coaching retreads have the same chance for jobs as white coaching retreads. So far, only Shell and Dungy have qualified, Shell because of loyalty and Dungy because he’s one of the best. Has Cremel’s name come up in any discussions? If Lewis, Morris, and Smith are fired, does anyone believe that they will ever have a shot at another head coaching job? Mangini got another shot. Norv Turner got another shot.

By: JoeSixPack

JoeSixPack — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:26:42 +0000

“Racist” America can elect a black President yet we still need the Rooney Rule?

By: Backinthesaddle

Backinthesaddle — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:06:23 +0000

It’s all a big fat charade. They should just dump the Rooney Rule. In this day and age do we actually still need to have race-based laws and policies? How can we ever achieve genuine equality if we continue with race-based policies?

By: GiantsDefenseRules

GiantsDefenseRules — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:29:14 +0000

Are teams required to sign a certain percentage of white, Asain, or Native American players a year? NO?
Then why are executive required to interview one minority candidate…especially if they are not even qualified?
It is a dumb rule – I understand the principle, but nonetheless dumb.

By: erebus

erebus — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:28:45 +0000

The really scary thing about most of the comment writers in PFT is that they really have no understanding of the rule or why it exists. They just continue to harp on the perceived injustice of affirmative action. The rule does not require an owner to hire anyone black, white or yellow. I just wish the Bucs and Browns had a more extensive hiring process.

By: Turk

Turk — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:09:41 +0000

Florio — what is up with your crusade about the Rooney rule? The rule is fine when discusssde in the world of theory and utopia, but it is just plain stupid when it bumps up against reality. It does not help the goal of increasing minority hires to require teams to go through sham interviews. In fact, it probably sets back minorities becasue the owners resent the existence of the rule. And do you really think that minorities enjoy being the token interview — it is degrading frankly. NFL teams want to win games, increase their fan base, and draw large crowds. So NFL teams are going to hire the person who will make it possible for them to reach that objective regardless of the skin color or ethnic background of their coach or GM. If a well qualified minority candidate is available that will help them reach that goal, that minority will be hired — period. I do not see the NFL owners as a group of people that are hell bent on kepping the black man in his place. An NFL team will hire a green monster with two heads if it will help them win.

By: slipkid

slipkid — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:02:40 +0000

the rooney rule wont be needed… as soon as all head coaches are black!
get rid of that immoral rule. the supreme court peed all over affirmative action. and they were right to do so.

By: Patsfan1776

Patsfan1776 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:02:01 +0000

The NFL made the rule for PR purposes only!

By: howiseeit

howiseeit — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:48:22 +0000

Gray is both a tool and and an Uncle Tom. Christ, the guy throws his own boss under the bus all the while realizing that he had absolutely no chance to get the job himself. He did it solely to keep Snyder happy and to hopefully keep his job when the next coach comes in. I’m betting that the next coach will drop his a$$ in the first firing shot.

By: meezle

meezle — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:44:27 +0000

Gmcd126 and fellas understand what the rooney rule is in place for.
Its isn’t racist and does serve a purpose, and you can’t compare it to the amount of black players in the league. A lot of the measurables team use to evaluate players are cut and dry, combine stats, not so much with coaching.

By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:11:27 +0000

Geez, Mike…..complain, complain, complain…that’s all you do. What ever happened to the “spirit” of the law ?? The NFL is satisfied, Gray and Brown are satisfied and so is the FPA ?? What gives…do you want to be interviewed too ?? Is that a term of the ‘Rooney Rule’ now ?? Give us a break and stick to things that you do best…whining and moaning about a non-issue is not one of them, although you love to do it when you get the chance…leave it alone…as you implied, any owner with half a brain doesn’t need the rule anyways…stick to the things you do well, not this…

By: JetBlackNinja

JetBlackNinja — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:47:23 +0000

Rooney Rule = Most openly racist thing allowed to occur on American Soil.

By: Bob S.

Bob S. — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:44:10 +0000

Just not fair! The huge majority of citizens are white yet the huge majority of NFL players hired are black. There must be a Rooney rule for players too that for EACH spot on the 53 man roster at least one white player must tryout for that spot.

By: Chapnasty2

Chapnasty2 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:36:10 +0000

Jim Caldwell made a great case last night against the Rooney rule

By: dcsween

dcsween — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:28:13 +0000

Completely consistent behavior by the The Owner, Mr. Snyder. Weasel around anti-tampering “rules”. Find “silence” in the Rooney Rule. The guy cares nothing about rules except in search of a way to be above them. The king of “vanguard” of new turk owners in the NFL … charging for parking to watch training camps. The child has never played football, much less had any connection to the game except as a fat fingered chubby kid who can now afford real like fantasy football. He’s ruining the game. I would lay odds that he is the one who will lead the owners in fighting any of the liability for long-term health effects of retired players in the new CBA … “not our fault, it was the owners who came before us” … football is not their credit either, it was the owners who came before them. Screw Snyder, Wilf, Lerner, and the other new turk turds.

By: hotchick

hotchick — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:14:13 +0000

Its possible that Wooton and Gray think the Rooney rule is an idiotic rule and do not care if their interviews are a sham. They could believe the rule is a sham.
Also, yes they could have done the the interview as a step towards advancing their careers, knowing full well that they were not true candidates for the head coaching job. But isn’t that the point of interviews, to advance ones career?
Why in the NFL can you not interview and line up an employees replacement? If management knows its going to can the head of marketing, it would be prudent to have his replacement lined up. People are insane if they think every team considering replacing their head coach has not had some sort of conversation with potemtial replacements. If a team is certain it is going to fire the HC, they absolutely should be interviewing replacements.
Just because he is a convienient name to use, lets look at Brian Kelly who jumped from Cincy to Notre Dame. Suppose the Redskins were interested in him. Wouldn’t it be wise to interview him before they accepted the job at ND? In order to do so they would need to before Zorn was fired.
And really what difference does it make? Shannahan is the man they want. If they interview anyone to comply with the Rooney Rule its a sham interview, be it before or after Zorn is fired. Does it really make a difference if Gray and Wooton are interviewed last week or next week? End result, Shannahan gets the job.

By: fellasheowed

fellasheowed — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:07:53 +0000

the rooney rule is designed to get minority candidates interviews, for open positions, and is as much about letting the media/fans/agents/other teams know that x person is viable enough to be considered. thus building the resume of guys who never used to be considered for head coaching, and barely more often coordinator positions…
with that in mind, the tweek that is needed is to make the hiring process take place after the season…just as it advances a career for the world at large to know x person is a candidate, it assassinates the career of jim zorn, even at a lesser position for all this to be going on while he is still head coach…if you want to walk your coach out of the building mid-season, fine, but you have to make due, for that season, with the manpower you had in august…thus, every candidacy, takes place at the same time, and much of the back room dealing is gone, as competitive as coaching is, its like giving teams extra practice days to allow them an advantage to hiring mid-season. also it violates the spirit of the open search for as broad of a base of qualified candidates as possible.

By: GMcD126

GMcD126 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:41:21 +0000

Florio – you are missing the point of the Rooney rule. One of the main reasons the rule was put in place so that even when teams have already targeted a successor, they are required to interview a minority candidate so that minority gets exposure and opportunity in the future, if not for that job, for others. Its not a “sham” if they went through a process evaluating Gray and or Blache to benchmark them against Shanahan even if they are set on old Leatherface. Thats why the rule exists

By: rodstiffington

rodstiffington — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:24:37 +0000

Can we officially change Jerry Gray’s name to Token?

By: ppdoc13

ppdoc13 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:17:46 +0000

florio hates on everyone equally. ask the browns or steeler fans. you deadskin fans are so desperate to win you don’t care that the danny is a scumbag cheating little man. i don’t like the rooney rule. he should be able to hire anyone he wants. but the rooney rule is in place and until they dispense with it it is to be followed, this is just another example of why the redskins and the danny are losers. until he stops believing that owning the team makes him as smart as his GM in football issues you will continue to be languishing in the basement of the NFC North. And if you think that hiring Bruce Allen and Shanahan will make a difference, you will be surprised. In a few years you will be talking about the next great coach that is going to be hired, because Shanahan just retired.
btw – name the last coach that won a SB with one team, took another to the SB and won.
Answer: there are NONE. Good track record for hiring Shanahan.

By: Browns_fan_in_therapy

Browns_fan_in_therapy — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:13:57 +0000

Florio is applying for the Rooney-Rule-Expert job within the NFL. Every other story is about a team not complying with it or trying to satisfy the requirements before hiring the guy they really want (God forbid they be allowed to do that)

By: Terry

Terry — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:56:37 +0000

You guys at PFT seem to be obsessed with this “Rooney Rule”. The NFL doesn’t seem to be concerned with this, somewhat misplaced, and PR motivated rule and neither should we; LET IT GO ALREADY. noone cares!

By: Rev. Dr. HollywoodWags

Rev. Dr. HollywoodWags — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:37:03 +0000

“Wooten spoke with Gray and Brown, and Wooten concluded that the interviews were legitimate, and that the interviews complied with the Rooney Rule.”
So is this Fritz Pollard Alliance a shadow governing body for the NFL or something?
Is that legal, in the context of employment law?
That seems to be pretty incredible, don’t you think? Hiring is based solely on accommodating one race, with an outside body with no oversight determining qualifications?
Is that ethical?

By: Stone

Stone — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:23:18 +0000

I don’t know if your continued pursuit of this particular subject is due to Southern guilt or what. There are 32 NFL head coaching positions in the United States. Blacks make up about 12% of the US population. Do you think ending the rule usage will be acceptable when Black head coaches/GMs amount to 12% of the League? Oh wait, its currently 20%. Yes, the League is made up of a majority of Black players, I understand the argument to have Blacks represented in positions other than solely as players. However, I don’t think anyone can prove there is anything more than coincidence involved with the increase of Black coaches after the rule was implemented. More than anything, I think the increase in the number of qualified Black candidates is the real reason. We could spend weeks researching all the candidates prior to 2003 and see where it takes us but I find it telling that the only Black head coaches hired prior to 2003 were all former NFL/AFL players, except for Dennis Green. It seems that they were the only ones perhaps qualified or experienced enough or with the requisite connections to hold an NFL head coaching gig.
Of the 6 current Black NFL head coaches, we can exclude Fewell for now as he is an interim coach. Singletary is an ex player, so he fits the mold of coaches hired prior to the Rooney rule. We are left with Caldwell, Smith, Morris and Tomlin, all former pupils of Tony Dungy or the Bucs, but none of them with NFL player experience. My thought here is that these guys received opportunities because of Dungy (former NFL player), not because of the Rooney rule. I have zero issue with that, I think NFL head coaches should be developed by other NFL head coaches. People have a natural tendency to want to be around people similar to themselves. Can’t we allow for a natural growth of Black NFL coaches based on a proven track record of success and tutelage in the NFL ranks? Isn’t it a bigger insult to have an empty rule in place that doesn’t seem to have had any affect whatsoever on NFL hiring practices?
Don’t even get me started on the fact that these are $800 million + franchises, owners should be able to hire anyone they want to run them. And they should want the best possible candidate. Not the empty facade of the “minority hiring.” That said, I’ll be interested to see how Caldwell does as a head coach. Besides having worked for Dungy, the guy really has zero credentials as a head coach. 26-63 as a college head coach? However, he has the requisite training by a successful NFL head coach, so he gets the benefit of the doubt. Good luck to him, he can enjoy it as long as he has Manning…which I guess is a long enough career for anyone.

By: DBL

DBL — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:00:41 +0000

“What [team officials] told me in the early hours of February [27] is that, ‘We’re going to let you play,’ ” Haynesworth said of Washington’s sales pitch on the first day of free agency.
B.S.
The Deadskins, are a joke of a franchise. If they only tried to have a bit of dignity and do right, they would translate their newfound luck to the field.
Dan Snyder is a slimy little scumbag, whose heart is black.
He is ruining the Deadskin legacy…

By: Sonny Mooks

Sonny Mooks — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:37:00 +0000

I actually happen to like the Rooney rule, but the facts are the facts, what you want, is simply more smoke and mirrors, not less.
Synder wants/wanted Shanahan, no rule, nothing, was going to change that. You can’t force him to keep an open mind, no matter what happens.
Rules create cracks, and just as water flows through cracks, people who have an intent find ways around a rule.
Lets say you are right, and the NFL and the Alliance make the adjustements. Then what ?
Dennis Green or someone else is misled into an interview, the image is that its a real open job, that other candidates now waste their valuable time on ?
Jerry Jones made a farce of this once, and they changed the rules due to it…….the coach that was hired was Bill Parcells, when he wanted Wade Philips, he simple covered his tracks better.
What your suggesting only adds more deceit to the process, What if Synder did it your way ? Does that change anything other then getting others hopes up and making them waste their time ?
The only difference is that, at most, its adds time (i.e. delay) to the process and more dishonesty. I like the Rooney rule, but I also like transparency and honesty, this process had neither the spirit of the rule, nor honesty and transparency, what you want, neither maintains that spirit of that rule, which can’t be done since Synder does not wish it, and actually calls for less honesty and transparency.
In other words what you want, makes things worse, not better. Its not a solution to a problem, its an enlargement of one.

By: Doc Fluty

Doc Fluty — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:33:32 +0000

“the Redskins are merely hiring the person they want to hire”
OMG… a private company hiring who they want to hire… g wiz.. call the PC police