Photo Credit: AP Photo/Mike Stewart
Two key figures behind the NFL’s Rooney Rule agree with commissioner Roger Goodell that the league’s diversity efforts are making a difference. However, they believe more work is needed—especially in the offensive coordinator pipeline, which remains a roadblock for minority coaches seeking head coaching opportunities.
Goodell Stands by Rooney Rule
During his pre-Super Bowl press conference in New Orleans, Goodell reaffirmed the league’s commitment to the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority and women candidates for coaching and executive positions. He emphasized that diversity initiatives are not a “trend” but the “right thing to do.”
“I think we’ve proven to ourselves that it does make the NFL better,” Goodell said.
Despite this progress, the league still faces challenges, particularly in offensive coordinator hires.
Offensive Coordinator Pipeline Lacks Diversity
Cyrus Mehri and John Wooten, who helped create the Rooney Rule in 2003, say the rule has improved representation but hasn’t significantly increased the number of minority offensive coordinators. Since that role is the most common stepping stone to a head coaching position, the lack of diversity in that area remains a major issue.
“There’s been a historic challenge when it comes to Black coaches in the offensive coordinator position,” Mehri told ESPN. “There’s always been a shortfall. We’re nowhere near where we could be or should be. And that creates a headwind against representation in the head coaching positions because that’s the primary pipeline.”
Currently, there are no Black offensive coordinators in the NFL. The only minority in that role is the Giants’ Mike Kafka, who is part Puerto Rican and attended the NFL’s minority-focused accelerator program.
Mehri pointed out that over half of NFL head coaches come from offensive coordinator backgrounds, while about 30% come from defensive coordinator positions and 10% from other roles.
“The NFL is not operating on all cylinders yet,” he added.
Wooten: Rooney Rule Still Making an Impact
Despite its flaws, Wooten, 88, a Hall of Famer and former NFL player, says the Rooney Rule has transformed the league.
“When I played in the NFL, we never had a Black coach in that room, period. When you look at this weekend’s game, look at the men you’re going to see on the sideline,” Wooten said. “That’s what the Rooney Rule has done. I feel that we have got to keep pushing.”
At the start of the 2024 season, 22% of NFL head coaches were Black (seven out of 32), while nine minority coaches held top jobs overall.
The NFL’s Diversity and Inclusion Report (2012–2023) showed that 40 of the 77 head coaches hired in that period previously served as offensive coordinators, while 24 came from defensive coordinator roles.
This season, one of seven head coaching vacancies was filled by a minority: Aaron Glenn, hired by the Jets after serving as the Lions’ defensive coordinator. Of the five other new head coaches, three came from offensive coordinator roles, and two were former head coaches.
Systemic Bias in Hiring Practices
Mehri compared the lack of Black offensive coordinators to the historical bias against Black quarterbacks. While three of this year’s four conference championship QBs were Black—including both Super Bowl starters—the same progress hasn’t reached coaching ranks.
“This is holding back the NFL,” Mehri said. “Otherwise, the Rooney Rule has been an enormous success.”
Legal Challenges and Political Pressure
Since the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision ending affirmative action in college admissions, conservative activists have pushed back against diversity programs in business and sports.
America First Legal, founded by former Trump aide Stephen Miller, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2024, arguing that the Rooney Rule functions as an illegal “quota” system.
Miller, now a deputy chief of staff in the Trump administration, has pushed to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federally funded organizations.
Mehri dismissed these claims, stating that the Rooney Rule expands candidate pools rather than reducing opportunities for non-minorities.
The rule “increases the slate,” said Jean Kuei. If there are, say, six candidates being considered but no diverse candidates, the rule says “you have to add two for certain positions. So now you’re just interviewing eight, but you’re not taking away two of the six that you were previously going to interview anyway.”
College Football Also Lags in Diversity
Richard Lapchick, creator of the Racial and Gender Report Card, pointed to similar issues in college football.
“This is 2025, and we just had the first Black head coach in a national championship game,” Lapchick said, referencing Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman. “What does that tell us about our hiring practices? It tells us we have a long way to go at the college level.”
Future Adjustments to the Rooney Rule
The NFL has continued refining the Rooney Rule to address its shortcomings. Over the years, interview requirements have expanded to ensure that more minority and female candidates are considered for key positions. To incentivize diversity in hiring, the league introduced compensatory draft picks when a minority coach is hired by another team. In 2022, the NFL also required teams to add a minority or female offensive assistant to their staff.
While these changes have led to progress, critics argue that some teams conduct interviews merely to comply with the rule rather than to genuinely consider minority candidates. A lawsuit from former Dolphins coach Brian Flores, which is still pending, alleges hiring discrimination and claims that some teams hold “sham interviews.”
Despite these ongoing challenges, Wooten remains confident in the rule’s impact.
“And that’s why we’re going to keep fighting when we need to fight,” he said. “But we’re winning, believe me when I tell you this.”
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This report used information from ESPN.
