Marvin Lewis understands there’s a problem.
But beyond increasing the opportunities for younger coaches in coordinator positions, he’s not sure what more can be done to increase the number of minority coaches in the NFL.
“You keep beating your head up against the wall, but I would say — and again, this is somebody’s business, this is somebody’s franchise, and nobody’s going to tell them who to hire,” Lewis said during an interview on ESPN Radio. “But if we can just somehow open the process a bit more and provide more opportunity [then more coaches could get hired].”
Lewis coached the Bengals for 16 years, and was the coach of the year in 2009.
His interview with the Cowboys before they hired Mike McCarthy allowed Jerry Jones to satisfy the Rooney Rule, and it was his only interview so far this offseason.
He said he still thinks going through the process is good for minority candidates, though many interviews appear to be an exercise in box-checking.
When Washington hired former Panthers coach Ron Rivera, it kept the number of minority coaches in the league at four, with just one vacancy remaining (Cleveland).