I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
There aren’t many good words I have for this “rule” in the NFL. I have words such as stupid and racist, but nothing good.
Why is it stupid?
It’s stupid because it doesn’t help bring in any new minority coaches. They have tried to explain that it help minorities get experience in the interview process. Sorry, if you need a coach to get experience in interviewing, I don’t want him as my coach. I’d rather him get coaching experience. In most interviews, no matter what the field, if you have the knowledge, it will show. If you can’t communicate that knowledge, why would I want to hire you, especially if I’m interviewing you for a coaching position that requires communication?
Why is it racist?
Anywhere you put quotas on requiring quotas based on race (no matter what the race), that is racist. You are putting forth that someone could not get their job on their own simply because of their race.
What it does in this case, it makes for minority coaches a “token” interview to satisfy a rule. Case in point, the Cowboys coaching role was never going to be anyone other than Jason Garrett. That is who Jerry Jones wanted. I see no issue with that. If he wanted a black coach, I don’t think he needs to interview a white coach to make anyone happy. If an owner wants someone in a specific position, let him do it. Sure, there is the possibility it may open the door for someone who may be overlooked otherwise. That is the exception, not the rule.
Out of the many coaching changes that have been made since the Rooney Rule came into force, there is not one documented instance that the rule has made any difference. Even the owner who’s name the rule bears (Steelers owner, Dan Rooney) stated that their hiring of Mike Tomlin was not a result of the rule. They even admitted they interviewed another black coach to “satisfy the rule”. Yes, they just interview to satisfy the requirement. This is inherently racist in that they only get an interview to satisfy a rule. In my opinion, that is more degrading than not interviewing them.
For the record, I am also an opponent to affirmative action. This is a law that states that if two candidates have the exact same qualifications (and in most cases they don’t even have to), the position has to go to a minority. That is probably the most racist law currently in effect.
How to fix it
A rule isn’t going to fix the original problem that causes this. There is no real coaching structure to get young coaches into the game early. There are a lot of young players of all colors who have a good football knowledge coming out of college programs. They played there, but are just not good enough to get to the top level of the NFL. These players should be actively pursued by the NFL to get them into coaching at all levels. They need to get programs and initiatives in place to grab these young men in their early twenties and get them earning coaching degrees and such so they can get within a system with a working knowledge of how to coach. Get them into the lower coaching roles within organizations to get their foot in the door. So, maybe somewhere down the line, since they will have years of experience within the coaching ranks, they will have the experience to move up. I don’t think the color of your skin should dictate that, what’s inside your head should count.
The NFL make billions of dollars per year, lets put some of that into use instead of making dumbass rules that make no difference to what you’re trying to achieve.