Rooney Rule

Initially, the program mandated interviews with underrepresented minority groups, aligning with modern Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles.

[1][2][3] The first actual hiring quota was established before the 2022 season, mandating that at least one member of each team's offensive coaching staff must be either an ethnic minority or a woman.

Shortly afterwards, U.S. civil rights attorneys Cyrus Mehri and Johnnie Cochran released a study showing that black head coaches, despite winning a higher percentage of games, were less likely to be hired and more likely to be fired than their white counterparts.

Former NFL players Kellen Winslow and John Wooten then put together an affinity group of minority scouts, coaches, and front-office personnel, to advocate for the rule's creation.

Also, the requirement does not apply if the assistant coach taking over the head position belongs to a minority group, as was the case with Mike Singletary and the San Francisco 49ers in late 2008.

[citation needed] Some legal scholars have advocated for extending the Rooney Rule to college football, where the number of minority head coaches was around 6% in 2008,[14] or only about half the African-American share of the U.S.

Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay), Jerod Mayo (New England), Raheem Morris (Atlanta), Antonio Pierce (Las Vegas), DeMeco Ryans (Houston), and Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh) are African-American; Dave Canales (Carolina) is Hispanic; Mike McDaniel (Miami) is multiracial;[21] Robert Saleh (New York Jets) is a Muslim of Lebanese origin.

After Marty Mornhinweg was fired, the Lions immediately hired former San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci to replace him without interviewing any other candidates.

In the wake of no minority hirings to fill eight head coaching and seven general management vacancies following the conclusion of the 2012 NFL regular season, NFL Executive Vice president of Human Resources Robert Gulliver stated, "While there has been full compliance with the interview requirements of the Rooney Rule and we wish the new head coaches and general managers much success, the hiring results this year have been unexpected and reflect a disappointing lack of diversity.

"[24] Analysts have pointed to the lack of interview offers for Baltimore Ravens' Offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell, who, as head coach, led the Indianapolis Colts to a 14–2 2009 season along with winning the 2009 American Football Conference title before losing in Super Bowl XLIV, as evidence that the rule needs revision.

[26] In recent years, the trend of hiring head coaches in the NFL has shifted towards looking for successful offensive coordinators; a role in which minorities only hold two out of the 32 available positions.

Also, teams and the NFL league office must also interview at least one minority candidate for senior-level positions, including general manager and club president jobs.

[35] Black coaches Kieron Dyer and Titus Bramble spoke out against the idea of Rooney Rule, saying they did not want to be perceived as having their roles because of a "quota".

According to the WCC,[38]The “Russell Rule” requires each member institution to include a member of a traditionally underrepresented community in the pool of final candidates for every athletic director, senior administrator, head coach and full-time assistant coach position in the athletic department.Some companies outside of sports, such as U.S. Bank, Pinterest, Facebook, Patreon and Checkr, have put similar rules in place for their hiring processes.