*A few weeks ago the NFL announcement plans to strengthen its commitment to consider minority candidates when hiring coaches and executives in their front offices.
“Our focus was simply: How do we make the Rooney Rule better?” Robert Gulliver, the league’s chief human resources officer, said, referring to the rule adopted in 2003 and named for Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers at the time who pushed for the regulations, reports the NY Times.
Now, the Rooney Rule will be put to the test.
There were seven Black coaches at the beginning of the 2018 season. On Monday, only two remain: Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh and Anthony Lynn with the LA Chargers. Carolina Panthers Coach Ron Rivera, who is Latino, is the only other minority head coach.
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Since nobody else will say it, of the 7 black head coaches that started the 2018 NFL season, only 2 remain.
Good luck Mike Tomlin & Anthony Lynn.
— Emmanuel Acho (@thEMANacho) December 31, 2018
Four black coaches were fired this week, including the Jets’ Todd Bowles, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos Coach Vance Joseph, and Cardinals’ coach Steve Wilks. Cleveland’s Hue Jackson had previously been canned back in October.
via the New York Times:
But the next several weeks will unquestionably heighten the scrutiny on the N.F.L.’s hiring practices and how reliably, or willingly, the Rooney Rule will be employed.
Under the new regulations enacted a few weeks ago, when teams are looking to fill positions, they must interview at least one minority candidate from a list kept by the league’s Career Development Advisory Panel, or a minority candidate not currently working with a team. Teams also must keep detailed records of who they interview, which is perhaps a response to criticism from minority candidates who say they are routinely called, but not formally interviewed, by teams trying to do the least possible to fulfill their obligations.
After it was first established, the Rooney Rule appeared to be having an impact. By 2011, eight N.F.L. teams had coaches of color, the most to that point, or since.
Yet, at the same time, hiring minority front office executives did not keep pace.
With this latest shake-up of Black coaches, and the N.F.L. under pressure to increase the presence of minority coaches and executives, many sports fans wonder if the Rooney Rule is even effective, and if so, why does the future for minority coaches still look so bleak?
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