A proposal set to be heard by NFL owners that would incentivize teams to hire minority coaches and general managers under the Rooney Rule has reportedly been shelved before a vote on Tuesday.
According to NFL Media’s Jim Trotter, NFL owners agreed to table the resolution that would enhance the league’s Rooney Rule to help create more opportunities for minority candidates.
While the NFL has received significant criticism in recent years for its lack of diversity at the most prominent positions, the measure didn’t receive strong support. Given commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly wasn’t enthusiastic about the rule change, team owners decided for him by putting it aside.
If the rule had passed, an NFL team would move up six spots in the third round of the NFL Draft a year after they hired a person of color as head coach. If a team hired a minority candidate to become the organization’s top football executive, commonly known as the general manager, they would move up 10 spots in the third round. If they did both, the organization would jump up 16 spots.
According to NFL Network’s Judy Batista, the NFL could now pull things back and create new changes to the Rooney Rule that would help create more opportunities for minority candidates.
The NFL already implemented two additions to the existing Rooney Rule. NFL teams must now interview two minority candidates for any head-coaching vacancies and one for any coordinator position. The league is also expected to eliminate a rule that prevented organizations from hiring position coaches from other teams into more prominent roles.