After years of seeing the numbers of African American coaches and general managers trending in the wrong direction, the NFL made it once again a point of emphasis to urge owners to embrace diversity at the league meetings conducted last week.
Sources said that commissioner Roger Goodell and others from the league office have continued to convey a message of inclusion and diversity in the upcoming hiring cycle, which is already underway for some of the vacant general manager positions. The NFL has reached the point where dealing directly with owners at the highest level possible is deemed imperative, as ultimately it is their decision who gets these highly-coveted positions, and who does not.
The league has expanded the scope of the Rooney Rule on multiple levels and is imparting to those in a position to actually make these hires that diversity needs to be more than a buzzword or talking point, and that the Rooney Rule is about much more than checking a box to comply. Owners are being urged to keep an open mind about the varied backgrounds and experiences of the candidates for these jobs and to embrace a process that expands beyond "trying to find the next Sean McVay," as one league official put it.
The NFL has incentivized the development of minority coaches and executives through potential compensatory draft picks as part of the new Rooney Rule stipulations and the tone of the league's comments about diversity and inclusion has heightened over the past year as the 2020 hiring cycle once again resulted in little infusion of diverse individuals. With there poised to be perhaps a record number of GM openings this year, and perhaps eight or more coaching vacancies, the NFL is hopeful that the trend will reverse next month as new hires are made.
