Jets' hiring of Robert Saleh marks the only minority head coach hired in this cycle so farGETTY IMAGES
Fritz Pollard Alliance Exec Dir Rod Graves expressed disappointment regarding the opportunities given to Black coaches and execs in the NFL, noting in a statement the expanded Rooney Rule "has not changed the rate of hires" in the league, according to Mike Florio of PRO FOOTBALL TALK. Florio notes the league office has "worked hard to promote minority candidates." However, of the five head coaches hired during the current cycle, one minority coach has been hired (Robert Saleh of the Jets), while no Black head coach has been hired. Graves said, "There are many outstanding Black men and other men and women of color in the NFL. The pipeline is as strong as it has ever been. The issue is not in the sufficiency of numbers; the problem is in the limited number of leadership opportunities given." Florio notes the Rooney Rule mandates certain standards when it comes to interviewing candidates, though "nothing stops an owner from locking onto a white candidate and hiring him after checking the boxes of the Rooney Rule" (NBCSPORTS.com, 1/19).
SAME-OLD STORY: THE UNDEFEATED's Jason Reid wrote NFL owners have "failed again," as there were initially seven openings for head coaches, but now, with only two vacancies remaining, "no Black coaches have been tabbed to fill any." Reid: "Going 0 for 5 is an awful look." The "lack of progress would be concerning during any cycle." But several Black assistants indicated that the fact it has occurred following the previous three cycles is "downright alarming for the game’s Black assistant coaches." Reid wrote during the previous cycles, there were 20 openings for head coaches and "only one coach of color was hired in each cycle -- and one Black coach total." Some will point to the Jets' hiring of Saleh, the first Muslim head coach in NFL history, as a "sign of progress on the coaching front." One should "make no mistake, that move is noteworthy." But "let’s be real: The NFL has never been Blacker" on the field, and with that backdrop, the league is "sending a horrible message to its Black assistant coaches." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and his top lieutenants had "hoped for better -- far better -- after high-ranking officials from the league office and the Fritz Pollard Alliance ... intensified their efforts around hiring during the offseason." But the NFL’s "hiring problem, at its core, is at the ownership level," and it is "as glaring as ever" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 1/18).
