The National Football League on Monday announced a new rule requiring 32 teams to appoint an attacking coach “a woman or a member of an ethnic or racial minority” for the 2022 season.
Art Rooney II, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, chairman of the NFL Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, said Monday that the rule is designed to increase the chances of women and people of color being recruited to top positions because the work of aggressive coordinators has been “stepped up.” Stone at the top of the league with the head coach. “
“We are obviously not a minority like an aggressive coordinator [job]Rooney says.
“It’s really an effort to bring in more talented minority coaches to the offensive side of the ball, both in the league and hopefully to attract those talented people from the college ranks,” he added.
NFL Chief Administrative Officer Dasha Smith said teams that already have a woman or a person of the same color in a similar role would count for that policy, ESPN reported.
The new policy is part of a series of initiatives designed to diversify the league, amid criticism that the league’s efforts have fallen flat over the past few years.
Since 2003, NFL teams have been forced to interview at least two minority candidates when appointing to prominent positions through a policy known as the Rooney Rules. But according to ESPN, the policy was expanded to include women at “all levels”.
The rules do not require that the female candidates interviewed be colored women, so a team may potentially interview two white female candidates to meet the need.
Rooney said that since women are in the “early stages” of entering coaching positions, it could be “a little too far” to include people of color before the inclusion of women in the definition of “minority” candidates.
“The truth of the matter is that to date, there are not many women in the pool of head coaches,” he said, according to ESPN. “We hope this is going to change over the years, but that’s why we haven’t seen the number of interviews for ethnic minorities being hampered at this time. Obviously, we can deal with it as time goes on, but now we don’t see it as a problem.” ”
In addition to the recruitment order, the NFL on Monday announced the formation of a new diversity advisory committee to review club recruitment policies and issued a statement from 32 parties addressing efforts to diversify club ownership.
The statement said, “Membership will be considered a positive and meaningful factor if the group includes several individuals who may have significant equity partnerships and involvement with the club, including acting as the club’s controlling owner.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued a memo last month, saying the results of the NFL’s efforts to diversify coaching staff were “unacceptable.”
“We have made significant efforts to promote diversity and have adopted many policies and programs that have made a positive difference in many areas, but we must acknowledge that the results have been unacceptable, especially in the case of head coaches,” Goodell said in a Feb. 5 memo. And re-evaluate and review all policies, guidelines and initiatives related to inclusion. “
The memo also acknowledges the concerns of former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who announced on Feb. 1 that he was suing the NFL for alleged racial discrimination after being fired in January despite ending the 8-1 season.
Flores was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers last month as their senior defensive assistant / linebackers coach for next season, but has vowed to continue his lawsuit against the NFL, where he complains that the league has a history of racist recruitment practices, especially when it comes to black head coaches. To recruit and retain.
Goodell said the NFL understands Flores’ concerns and “as the legal process moves forward, we will not wait to reevaluate and revise our strategies to ensure our values and consistency are consistent with our long-term commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
But in its initial response to Flores’ case, the NFL said in a statement on February 1 that “diversity is the key to everything we do” and claimed that its allegations were “without merit.”
In a league with more than 80% black players, there are only two minority owners and only five minority head coaches, including two black head coaches – Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Lovy Smith of the Houston Texans.
Tomlin, who was outspoken about the NFL’s lack of diversity, expressed skepticism at an owners’ meeting Monday that new recruitment practices would lead to change, according to ESPN.
“I wasn’t in any discussions and no, I don’t have any level of confidence that would lead me to believe that things are going to get better,” Tomlin said. “I’m the opposite of a guy who sits around and talks about things.”