Rotten Rooney: How the NFL is failing minority head coaches
As said best by the Associated Press, “Then there was one”. There is one black NFL head coach: Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the last weeks, the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans fired the remaining black head coaches in the league, Brian Flores and David Culley, respectively. Luckily, Mike Tomlin’s job is safe, yet the NFL is one firing away from being an utter mockery. With the league consisting over 50% of black players, endzones saying “END RACISM”, and back bumpers displaying varying uplifting messages, why is there only one remaining black head coach?
Share of players in the NFL in 2020, by ethnicity (Christiana Gough on Statista)
In 2003, the National Football League established the “Rooney Rule” after Dan Rooney, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and former chairman of the league's diversity committee. The rule emerged after the firing of Tampa Bay’s head coach Tony Dungy and Minnesota’s head coach Dennis Green where each had tremendous success in years prior. After their firings, U.S. civil rights attorneys Cyrus Mehri and Johnnie Cochran created a study and worked with former players to advocate for the rule. The Rooney Rule has then been enhanced in 2009 and 2018, with the following being the 2018 enhancements, sourced from NFL Communications.
Dan Rooney holding the Lombardi Trophy in the Steelers’ Super Bowl XL victory. (Originally from Jeff Haynes, AP.)
The enhancements to strengthen the Rooney Rule include:
Clubs must interview at least one diverse candidate from the Career Development Advisory Panel list or a diverse candidate not currently employed by the club;
Clubs must continue best practice recommendation of considering multiple diverse candidates;
Clubs must maintain complete records and furnish to the league upon Commissioner's request; and
If the final decision-maker is involved in the beginning, he/she must be involved through the conclusion of the process.
The committee also endorsed strong accountability measures in the event clubs fail to comply or seek to evade procedures outlined in the Rooney Rule.
However, despite its intent, the NFL is rotting itself with the Rooney Rule. In a recent “Around the Horn” on Jan. 14, the board of Woody Paige, Sarah Spain, Joon Lee, and Justin Tinsley discussed the downfalls and their reactions to the firings of Flores and Cully. Many pointed out the systematic failures positioned black head coaches to fail. Justin Tinsley discussed how black coaches are often “fired first, hired last and no second chances” or how they are not even placed in positions to succeed. Many have turned heads at the firing of Flores and Cully, especially after Houston GM Nick Caserio said the following:
"I would say when you rewind here and go back to a year ago ... I'd say the organization was in a pretty rough spot, and I think from where we were then to where we are now, we're in a lot better position. And quite frankly, I think that's because of the leadership and the guidance and the direction that David Culley brought in this football team."
If Culley provided leadership and guidance, why not give him another chance? Many players admired him for his leadership and his ability to bring the Texans together in a difficult season, on and off the field. “He stepped into a difficult situation. He took the brunt of it and led the team to four wins when they didn't expect us to win any games. I feel bad for him. He's a stand-up guy who did things the right way and I think he did well in establishing the culture of the team. He had guys ready to play every Sunday and I wish him the best,” explained Texans safety Justin Reid in an interview with TexansDaily.
In addition, Joon Lee mentions how the standard for black head coaches is often too high when compared to Mike Tomlin. Tomlin is a fantastic head coach with no losing record, yet to always compare other black head coaches to him is unfair. Even outside of race, Tomlin is one of the best of his time and a Canton hopeful.
Despite the firing of Culley and Flores, there is potential for more black head coaches to be hired in the new coaching cycle. Names like Kansas City’s Eric Bieniemy, Los Angeles Rams’ Raheem Morris, or Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles may move into a head coach position in due time. However, this is the downfall of the Rooney Rule: although good in thought, GMs and management technically do not need to hire these prospective coaches, and they could be replaced by another.
In a sense, one can extrapolate the Rooney Rule to larger American sports and society. Although these diversity inclusion actions are good in thought, the systematic and historical failures of generations prior outweighs the current notions. The actions of the NFL seem paradoxical, and they are greatly outcompeted by nearly half of NBA head coaches being African American. As of October 2021, there were 12 black head coaches out of 30 teams.
Only time will tell if the Rooney Rule will truly work, or if NFL executives will take accountability and admit their failings.