FAIRER GAME
NFL to consider draft perks for minority coach, GM hires
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is following through on his call for more minorities to become head coaches and general managers.
The league is planning to present two resolutions to incentivize diversity on Tuesday night during the owners’ virtual meeting, according to NFL.com. One proposition would take away teams’ ability to block their assistant coaches from interviewing for coordinator positions with other clubs, while the other would reward franchises with improved draft slots should they hire more minorities.
“Clearly we are not where we want to be on this level,” Goodell had said in his league address at Super Bowl 54 in Miami. “It’s clear we need to change. We have already begun discussing those changes, what stages we can take next to determine better outcomes.”
It’s the league’s latest attempt at leveling the playing field for people hoping to work in the NFL. The Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs, was established in 2003 and named after Dan Rooney, the former owner of the Steelers and former chairman of the league’s diversity committee.
There are currently only two black general managers and four head coaches in the NFL who aren’t white. With five coaching vacancies this offseason, only one was filled by a person of color: the Redskins’ Ron Rivera, who is of Puerto Rican descent.
Under the proposed resolutions, a team that hires a minority head coach would move up six spots from its thirdround draft slot prior to that coach’s second season. For a general manager hire, the jump would be 10 draft slots. Should a team fill both positions with diverse hires, it could jump 16 spots — potentially improving its third-round pick to a midsecond rounder.
Entering a third season with a qualifying coaching or GM hire still on board would see a team’s fourth-round pick climb five spots.