Photo Credit: Getty Images
One of the biggest issues surrounding the world of sports is the lack of diversity. This issue is most visible in the NFL. The lack of African American coaches is something that has been a major talking point for many years, and with more than half of its players being Black, it is very disappointing to know that there are very few African American head coaches. Currently, out of the 32 teams in the NFL only 3 teams have an African American head coach, and only 2 other teams have a coach from another minority.
To aid in resolving this issue, the NFL added changes to the Rooney Rule. The Rooney Rule was named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney, and was adopted by the NFL in 2003. It required teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching positions. Since then, the Rooney Rule has been expanded to include general manager jobs, according to Sports Illustrated.
The changes include compensating teams who develop African Americans and other minorities in their system with draft picks. The same compensation was given to teams who interviewed and hired African Americans, and other minority candidates.
The NFL also expanded the interview requirements in an attempt to give more opportunities to African Americans and other minorities. However, despite these changes there is still a bias against African Americans and other minorities by NFL owners, and general managers. Until that bias is gone, the Rooney Rule will be unable to fulfill its intended purpose.
This occurred with Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy has been a cornerstone in the success of arguably the NFL’s best team over the past 3 years. Bieniemy has also been considered one of the top-tier coordinators in the NFL. Despite this, Bieniemy has been constantly overlooked and has not been given the opportunity to interview for open head coaching jobs, according to Forbes.
The same has been done to defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier of the Buffalo Bills. Also, to offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles who are both from the Superbowl winning Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Those same head coach positions have been assigned to white assistants/coordinators such as Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions, and Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles. Compared to Bieniemy, Leftwich, and Bowles, Campbell and Sirianni are unproven, lack experience and do not have the same resumes.
These instances are reasons why many do not believe the Rooney Rule will actually have an impact on the NFL’s diversity issue. The NFL still has a long way to go if they ever want to solve the issue of diversity in their league, and while the Rooney Rule is a good start to solve the issue, the reason diversity is such an issue in the first place is due to the owners. So, until the NFL can find a way to sway the bias from the owners, the change that they so desperately seek will never come.
