Everyone in the football world seems to agree that the Seattle Seahawks have decided to hire Pete Carroll as their next head coach, and that the only thing holding them back is interviewing a minority coach to comply with the NFL’s Rooney Rule.
Obviously, interviewing a minority candidate solely to comply with the Rooney Rule makes a mockery of the Rooney Rule. And a similar dynamic is shaping up with the Seahawks’ general manager position.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Fritz Pollard Alliance has signed off on the Seahawks’ plan to interview Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross as an interview that would represent compliance with the Rooney Rule. According to Schefter, the Fritz Pollard Alliance has been given assurances that Carroll would not have full control of Seattle’s organization. Carroll would apparently have control over the 53-man roster, but not complete control over all personnel.
That’s an unusual arrangement, and the assurance given to the Fritz Pollard Alliance seems to contradict a report from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that Carroll would have final authority on personnel.
Whatever happens from here on out, it seems clear that the Seahawks, like the Redskins before them, have violated the spirit of the Rooney Rule by arranging sham interviews with minority candidates only after deciding who they’re really going to hire.