“Diverse” coach is mandatory
NFL is forcing more diversity on the coaching staff
03/29/2022, 08:19 am
So far, the NFL has lacked diversity, especially within its coaching teams. The football league decides that this should change from the coming season. At least one assistant coach on offense must then belong to a minority.
The National Football League (NFL) in the USA wants to get the problem of a lack of diversity in responsible positions under control with a new measure. Beginning the new season in September, NFL teams must employ at least one minority assistant offensive coach. The league made the announcement after owners of all 32 franchises made the decision at their Florida meeting.
This takes into account the fact that most head coaches tend to be promoted from the field of offensive coaches, said Art Rooney II, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. “We clearly have a trend of coaches coming off the offensive line, and we clearly don’t have a lot of minority positions in offensive coordinator positions,” said Rooney, who also chairs the NFL’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
The league has been under criticism for a while for a lack of diversity. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell described this as “unacceptable”, even US President Joe Biden recently intervened. Looking at the league as a whole, “the notion that there shouldn’t be enough African-American coaches who can lead teams is misguided,” he said in an NBC interview.
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores had previously brought the issue more urgency, suing the NFL for alleged racially motivated discrimination. The “Rooney Rule” already required teams to invite a certain quota of people from minorities to job interviews. According to Flores, however, this was only partly done in sham talks.