NFL expands Rooney Rule, requires more interviews of minority candidates

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 18, 2020, 4:23 PM EDT
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The NFL is expanding the Rooney Rule.

The Rooney Rule, which was established in 2003, has always required teams to interview at least one minority for any head coaching vacancy. Now Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that the NFL is immediately changing the Rooney Rule, requiring teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for all head coach openings.

Additionally, teams will now be required to interview at least one minority candidate for any coordinator job.

Still to be determined is whether the NFL will adopt a proposal that would give teams better draft picks if they hired minority head coaches or general managers. That proposal will be voted on at the upcoming owners’ meeting.

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59 responses to “NFL expands Rooney Rule, requires more interviews of minority candidates”

  3. What if a team wants to hand over the head coaching gig (like they retired) to their Offensive or Defensive Co-Ordinator. Wouldn’t it be a waste of time just interviewing potential candidates if the intention is to their current hire OC or DC?

  4. Can’t wait for their next brainstorming meeting in a couple years where somebody goes “You know, if we required THREE interviews that might make a difference.”

  5. Regarding minority candidates, I think they should adopt the rule that as many HC interviews undertaken the team must interview 50%, plus 1 unless promotion is minority on staff.

    For Coordinators, it should be equal to number of non minority interviews undertaken. Unless promotion comes from minority staff.

  6. Hello candidate. Thanks for coming out but I’m not really interested in hiring you. I’m just fulfilling the Rooney Rule that says I must interview a minority. So that’s why you’re here. Also, if I do hire you, it’s only to get a higher draft pick but after we make the pick, we’ll just fire you. But thanks for coming all this way. Best luck on your future endeavors

  8. How come no out cry that blacks make up 75% of the players in the NFL and 90% in the NBA

  9. This has got the making of a 50 billion dollar lawsuit that would encompass all sorts of left wing legislation, like title IX and such. That will be fun.

  10. I don’t think lack of interviews was the problem, doubling the interviews doesn’t help. Now you’ve just created twice as many waste of time check the rooney rule requirement box interviews

  11. schilhater says:
    May 18, 2020 at 4:39 pm
    How come no out cry that blacks make up 75% of the players in the NFL and 90% in the NBA
    —————–
    Unfortunately….that seems like a legitimate question following these guidelines…..smh…..

  12. Just cut to the chase and require teams to hire a minority. That’s where this crap is headed anyways.

  13. Why would minority candidates want this? I’d rather get a job based on merit rather than the color of my skin.
    This is the definition of using a crutch.
    If you’re hired because you’re black and you struggle then you’ll get the boot a lot quicker than someone who was the primary choice of an owner or GM.
    I’m just stunned that we’re still lying to ourselves that this is a good rule and it moves race “perceptions” in a positive direction.

  15. This is Not what Mr. Rooney envisioned happening ..I dont think, but here we are and its not working….

  16. The Cleveland Browns are ahead of the curve hiring GM Andrew Berry and he is an Ivy leaguer as well. Having the smartest guys in the room is the way to go versus the stodgy old school football men. The Browns should be grandfathered in under the proposed new rule change and be granted an extra #1 pick next year. They have also hired a minority as their new DC this year.
    Here we go Brownies!

  17. I see one of the biggest problems is how college coaches are being paid today. You have some really talented minority coaches, but want to stay put. The salaries are almost equal, so there is no incentive to advance.

  18. They need to take it a step further. Teams should be penalized for hiring any non-minorities.

  19. Hire someone because they’re qualified regardless of the color of their skin. Give this a rest already.

  20. Is there any team that would not hire a minority candidate if they were the best available person for the job? And does the NFL believe that if a team would NOT hire a minority candidate no matter how perfect they are, by making them interview TWO minority candidates they are going to change their minds?

  21. I’m guessing a lot of the serious potential candidates will miss their chance because of the rules allowing coordinators/assistants to be denied the opportunity to be interviewed.

    If they want to increase the circulation of candidates, that’s what they need to be focusing on.

    I think expanding the Rooney rule to the coordinator level makes some sense, the two-interview requirement for HC makes less sense, and the draft-pick idea makes no sense and would be a disaster to implement.

    While I don’t know what I think about those who quote the incredibly lopsided % of black vs. white athletes in the league, it does raise a question about whether this is really about equality of opportunity, or a quota. If it was about equality of opportunity, then up & down changes year to year would be seen as natural. This panic tells me it’s more about a quota they’re not sharing with us. Coach % will never match player % unless hard quotas are put in place for a long time.

  22. You know what’s really gonna be annoying is next offseason when guys like Bieniemy, Saleh, and probably Bowles/Leftwich get hired as HCs (which most if not all of them were already on track for) the Rooney Rule worshipers are gonna scream in joy saying “See! The changes worked!” when it reality it will have no impact. So dumb…

  23. And what if they just hired a new front office? This isn’t right at all.

  24. Qualified candidates. Cleveland has been overflowing with black execs.. didn’t equal success!

  25. “Why would minority candidates want this? I’d rather get a job based on merit rather than the color of my skin.”
    ___________

    In the current reality minority candidates cannot get a job based on merit because of the color of their skin. Do you really think that minority candidates want this current situation?

  27. Whatever happened to hiring the best qualified, black, white, Hispanic, etc. Hire the best candidate no matter what their race is.

  28. Once we are travelling again, I wonder if there will be a requirement for the interviews to be in-person, or if the interviews that are only being done to satisfy the rule can be done by Zoom? Save time and money for all parties involved.

  29. schilhater says:
    May 18, 2020 at 4:39 pm
    How come no out cry that blacks make up 75% of the players in the NFL and 90% in the NBA

    —-

    Must be the same reason there’s only 1 black owner between these 2 sports

  30. Ah yes the NFL doing what it does best – fixing something that ain’t broke.

  31. How about if you hire a minority your team gets to go to the Super Bowl that year. You would have to actually win the game on the field but you get an automatic berth in the game. If more than 1 team hires a minority then everyone gets to be the Word Champs that year…

  33. Hopefully, minority coaches who know they have no shot at the job should kindly refuse to be used by the NFLs PC machine and decline interviews.

  34. I think they just need to slow down the hiring process period. Make teams interview at least 5 candidates for every position with all 5 and at least 2 minorities receiving real interviews. Than anyone crying racism can point to the 3 interviews allowed for non minorities. Or just go with 4 or 6 and make it even.

    This would ensure more people get interviews not just minorities. Problem solved.

  36. Instead of these Rooney Rules, the NFL should create a program for unpaid or low-paid entry-level coaching internships for minorities.

    There’s only one way to hired as a head coach. Be an OC or DC on a winning team. That’s literally it.

  37. No team owner became a billionaire because they are stupid. When you invest that kind of capital into a NFL team business, you are going to hire top notch coaches, GMs, have great facilities, and associated personnel. That approach knows no color or race and that approach is not going to change. The best prove themselves on the way to the top and are hired on merit. If you want to get your head and idiot thoughts wrapped around the Rooney Rule then how come you have black players representing over 70% of the players while representing 13% of the population? Better choose your path of equality wisely!

  38. It’s almost as if the league is purposefully trying to take itself out of business.

  39. This rule never made sense for numerous reasons, but a major one is this: If teams are indeed racist, forcing them to interview more black (the only minority, apparently) candidates isn’t going to make the “racists” hire those black candidates. Now if racism isn’t the reason more black candidates aren’t being hired, then the rule still doesn’t make sense.

  40. Thank you for coming in today Mr Bellichek. Your resume is really impeccable.

    Unfortunately you dont meet our current requirements for our head coaching position. We wish you luck in your future endeavors.

  44. During the draft teams are commended for taking the best available player. What makes anyone think they don’t take the best available coaches?

  46. As a black man I do not want to be asked to interview for jobs I will not be getting. 2 for head coaching and one for coordinator? I would possibly be asked to interview multiple times a year to fill a quota

  47. The NFL just keeps making it easier and easier to just quit watching this train wreck…..having to interview or hire somebody because of the color of their skin is a joke, allowing players to stay in the league that rob and beat people, girlfriends, and children is a joke, officials that either can’t see or understand the rules or allow non calls are a joke…the money being paid to players and the money being charged to fans is a joke but the biggest joke of all is probably the guy in charge……he will forever be known as the guy who killed the “Golden Goose”

  48. The truth of the matter is that the harder certain types of people try to ensure minorities are treated “equally”, the more they show that they don’t think minorities are equal.

  49. If you are going to keep the asinine rooney rule and expand the requirement for interviewing minorities, then I say you revise the rule… teams have to make an effort to offer the chance to interview. If the candidate declines then the rule is satisfied.

    But lets be completely honest, this rule is moronic. Get rid of it.

  50. My football team is made up of me as the head coach and countless assistants. I use Madden simulations to coordinate my games.

  51. Teams should start interviewing some female coaching candidates and see if the NFL front office thinks that checks the appropriate boxes.

  52. Bravo to the NFL for recognizing the problem starts at a more fundamental level. Chris Long covered this in depth on his podcast, it starts in that Quarterback / Offense room, and there’s been too many token phone calls to Art Shell that satisfy the one and only checkbox. The NFL has no future it isn’t willing to recognize the intellectual brain drain that occurs when only people of one skin color are given a shot. Hiring practices are backwards when a highly successful up and comer like Brenston Buckner are fired for retread Has-beens like Rod Marinelli. I look forward to expansion of these rules to further promote equality and racial harmony in the future.

  55. To all the naysayers and “hire the most qualified candidate” folks – do you really believe that systemic racism hasn’t existed in the NFL? How long did it take the collective NFL Old White Guy brain trust to decide that minorities could play QB?

    This rule IS NOT forcing teams to hire anyone of any color, it’s just saying interview them and give them a chance. The NFL is an old boy network, still, and you can bet that there are many qualified minority coaching candidates who haven’t gotten a fair shot due to systemic racism – or at least partly just cronyism, guys want to hire who they know – so this rule is just trying to break down the bureaucratic color barrier a bit more.

    Whether it works or not – who knows, probably not, but what does it hurt?

  56. why not require interviewing at least 1 transgender candidate as well? And what about an Asian candidate and at least one candidate under the age of 25? Do people not see how silly it is to require decisions based on fixed attributes over which individuals have not control?

  57. bronconationomaha says:
    May 18, 2020 at 4:34 pm
    What if a team wants to hand over the head coaching gig (like they retired) to their Offensive or Defensive Co-Ordinator. Wouldn’t it be a waste of time just interviewing potential candidates if the intention is to their current hire OC or DC?
    ____________________________________________________________

    You know what’s really bad here? they can currently do that with a minority coach but not a white coach.

  58. tiredofcowards says:
    May 18, 2020 at 10:58 pm

    The truth of the matter is that the harder certain types of people try to ensure minorities are treated “equally”, the more they show that they don’t think minorities are equal.

    ———————————–

    “The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations”

  59. Patrick H says:
    May 19, 2020 at 12:24 am
    Bravo to the NFL for recognizing the problem starts at a more fundamental level. Chris Long covered this in depth on his podcast, it starts in that Quarterback / Offense room, and there’s been too many token phone calls to Art Shell that satisfy the one and only checkbox. The NFL has no future it isn’t willing to recognize the intellectual brain drain that occurs when only people of one skin color are given a shot. Hiring practices are backwards when a highly successful up and comer like Brenston Buckner are fired for retread Has-beens like Rod Marinelli. I look forward to expansion of these rules to further promote equality and racial harmony in the future.

    ——-

    Racists perceive racism in everything….

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