NFL says hiring of coaches and General Managers reflects “disappointing lack of diversity”
NFL says hiring of coaches and General Managers reflects “disappointing lack of diversity” | ProFootballTalk
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“While there has been full compliance with the interview requirements of the Rooney Rule and we wish the new head coaches and general managers much success, the hiring results this year have been unexpected and reflect a disappointing lack of diversity,” said NFL executive V.P. of human resources Robert Gulliver in a statement released to PFT. “The Rooney Rule has been a valuable tool in expanding diversity and inclusion in hiring practices, but there is more work to do, especially around increasing and strengthening the pipeline of diverse candidates for head coach and senior football executive positions. We have already started the process of developing a plan for additional steps that will better ensure more diversity and inclusion on a regular basis in our hiring results. We look forward to discussing these steps with our advisers to ensure that our employment, development and equal opportunity programs are both robust and successful.”
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I've got to say the NFL is wrong on this one. Out of 8 head coaching vacancies, 8 were filled by coaches with an offensive background. I'd like to know how many non-white offensive-minded coaches interviewed for head coaching vacancies. I imagine not many. And truth be told, the vast majority of men who have qualifications to be interviewed at all are white -When i look on the sidelines during games, at any level, the majority of coordinators and college head coches are white. Come to think of it, i cant think of a single offensive coordinator in the NFL who is black. I'm sure theres got to be some, but there arent many. When your pool of qualified canditates is mostly white, its more likely that the guys selected will be white. Look at it another way - for every black coach that interviews and doesnt get hired, there's 4 or 5 more white coaches who interviewed and also didnt get hired.
I personally think Lovie Smith deserves to be a head coach. I think the Bears made a HUGE mistake by firing him and replacing him with Trestman, but he
s a defensive coach in a league that favors Offense. All of the head coaches hired went to teams that had struggling offenses, so i understand why a team like the Arizona Cardinals or Cleavleland Browns didnt hire Lovie. I think the Eagles SHOULD have, given their defense has talent, but lacks direction, but as a skins fan i'm glad they didnt. Chip Kelly will be the next Steve Spurrier and i will enjoy watching them embarrass themselves for the next few years.
I also wonder, why the league makes a big deal about not having enough non-white coaches, but they dont look at the racial inequality on the field. The majority of players are black, but no one complains (nor should they). Teams play the best players, regardless of race. So why should it be different with coaches? Give the best guy the job and leave it at that.
a head coaching hire is just about the most important decision an owner can make (arguably moreso than the GM). I cannot believe that any of the leagues owners would hire anyone other than the best candidate for the job. If there were an owner that allowed race to factor into his hiring decision, then the NFL should kick him out of the league for conduct detrimental to the league. Unless they think thats happening, they need to shut up and let owners hire whomever they think gives them the best chance of winning.
The only time i'd ever want the league to get involve in an owner hiring a coach/GM would be if Snyder tried to bring Cerrato back. I would fully support the League in that instance.