Chris Grier and Brian Flores are the NFL's only Black GM-coach duoGETTY IMAGES
The Dolphins, headed by Brian Flores and Chris Grier, the NFL's only Black coach and Black GM duo, are a "model for hiring diverse and inclusive leadership while cultivating the pipeline of talent on the football and the business side," according to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com. The Dolphins "have focused on bypassing the NFL's sometimes flawed hiring criteria in an effort to reach an inclusive pool of qualified candidates, and through that process the franchise serves as a model for other NFL teams and their owners." The franchise "has made strides in diverse hiring that is in line with what the NFL's Rooney Rule was intended to do." Fritz Pollard Alliance Exec Dir Rod Graves said, "This is an organization that is putting their money where their mouth is. They aren't just talking about diversity. They have a plan and strategy in effect." Of the Dolphins' 17 player personnel members, 11 are "minorities or women, not including Grier." The Dolphins also "led the NFL with 15 Bill Walsh Diversity coaching fellowship hires" in '19. Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross also founded RISE, a nonprofit organization committed to fighting racism, in '15, and he has committed $30M to it, including $13M this year. The Dolphins Football Unites program, overseen by Senior VP/Communications & Community Affairs Jason Jenkins, "has been an NFL leader in volunteering time and impacting underprivileged communities" (ESPN.com, 10/1).
