Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The NFL announced changes to the Rooney Rule Monday to increase the number of minority candidates being considered for open coaching and front-office positions.
The category of minority candidates will now also include women. To meet the requirements of the Rooney Rule, an interview for head coaches and CEOs must be in-person rather than virtual.
There are currently five minority head coaches: Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Washington’s Ron Rivera, Houston’s Lovie Smith, Miami’s Mike McDaniels and Robert Saleh of the New York Jets.
“In general, I would say that we have pros and cons in terms of the hiring cycle,” said Steelers president Art Rooney II, whose late father, Dan Rooney, is credited with creating the Rooney Rule.
“We have seen progress in certain areas in recent years. Certainly the number of minorities running for leadership positions in the League has increased significantly in recent years…
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“Obviously we’re still not seeing the kind of progress that we’d like to see on the head coach front line and so we’ve been focused on that effort and how we can improve the processes.”
The league will also require all teams to hire a minority coach or woman to serve as an offensive assistant in hopes of deepening the pool of potential head coach candidates. The league will help fund these assistants.
“It’s a recognition that we’re looking at stepping stones for a head coach at the moment, which are coordinator positions,” Rooney said. “We clearly have a trend over the last few years for our head coaches to come from the offensive side of the ball and we clearly don’t have that many minorities in the offensive coordinator positions.
“So, without oversimplifying, it’s really an effort to try and get more talented minority coaches on the offensive side of the ball. Both within the league and hopefully those talented individuals from the collegiate ranks.”
The NFL also pledged to do everything it can to increase diversity among team ownership, saying that when evaluating a potential ownership group, “membership will look to it as a positive and meaningful factor if the group includes diverse individuals who would have a significant interest in them and interest in the club, including acting as controlling owner of the club.”
A dozen QBs are worthy of next year’s Super Bowl
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
A year ago, had one of the truly great under-the-radar seasons in NFL history and the gold standard for a passer who can run (4,407 yards passing, 36 TDs, 763 yards rushing, six touchdowns). Solid offseason acquisitions for the Bills included guard Rodger Saffold, tight end OJ Howard and pass rusher Von Miller.
Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images North America/TNS
2. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs of Kansas City
The Chiefs added JuJu Smith-Schuster to an offense that already has Tyreek HIll and Travis Kelce. I’m still trying to figure out what happened to Mahomes in the second half of the AFC title game loss to the Bengals, but I’m assuming it was just a bad day.
David Becker
3. Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneer
The Bucs were about to make a miraculous comeback in the title game against the Rams until they got Cooper Kupp-ed. One concern – Brady lost his two starting guards, Ali Marpet to a surprise retirement and Alex Cappa to a free hand.
Mark LoMoglio
4. Matthew Stafford, LA Rams
You’ll notice that quarterbacks #3 and #4 on this list were specifically recruited with the idea of making a good team a great one through their mere presence, and both delivered Super Bowl championships. Why design and develop when you can occupy football’s most important position with one trade?
Lynne Sladky
5.Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals signed La’el Collins and Cappa to improve the line that saw Burrow sacked 51 times in the postseason. If Cincinnati gets his protection, Burrow can put up much bigger numbers than last year’s 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns. he is so good
Adam Hunger
6. Justin Herbert, LA Chargers
Wide receiver Mike Williams was kept on a three-year contract extension, but offense wasn’t the Chargers’ problem. Watch how much better Herbert gets in terms of the bottom line with free agent cornerback JC Jackson staying on contract and Khalil Mack joining Joey Bosa as the bookend pass rusher.
Jeff Bottari
7. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay packer
Rodgers played poorly in the playoff loss to the 49ers and his penchant for over-the-top drama is waning. He’s also without Davante Adams, who is dealt to the Raiders. But he’s won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards and is inducted into the Hall of Fame, so he can’t be counted.
Jeffrey Phelps
8th,. Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
This could go either way. But the guess here is that Wilson will regain his touch with offense-managing Nathaniel Hackett and make the Broncos a viable playoff contender in the quarterback-rich AFC West.
David Zalubowski
9. Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders
Helped talk longtime Fresno State friend Adams into a deal to Las Vegas that immediately makes the Raiders special on offense. With Adams, Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow in store, Carr’s red-zone problems should be a thing of the past if the Raiders can protect him.
Emily Chinn
10. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Yes, he could be suspended, and it’s more than a little awkward that so many teams were willing to overlook 22 civil lawsuits to throw bags of cash at one of the NFL’s dynamic talents. But if the guy gets $230 million guaranteed, a lot of people will overlook his indiscretions and he’ll be the biggest man in Cleveland since LeBron James.
Zach Bolinger
11. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Should be good for another 4,449 yards and 37 touchdowns for the Cowboys. Still stunned by the sight of Prescott running the ball down the middle and ticking the clock off in the playoffs against the 49ers, that doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s among the elite of the suddenly quarterback-thin NFC.
Roger Steinman
Stallions Ryan Trade 12. Matt Ryan, Indianapolis Colts
Atlanta’s touch with Watson turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to Ryan. He joins a vastly superior Colts team that has a big lead in Jonathan Taylor, solid receivers and good defense. A huge improvement over Carson Wentz in terms of decision making and stability for a team ready to win.
Danny Karnik