League hopes plan will boost diversity
Teams offered draft picks for developing minorities in front-office positions
When the Rooney Rule was adopted by the NFL in 2003, Troy Vincent was in his 12th of 15 seasons as an outstanding defensive back. He was soon to become president of the NFL Players Association, an impactful position he held for four years.
He joined the league office in 2010 as vice-president of player engagement and was in charge of NFL football operations by 2014. Vincent, who is Black, had made great strides in the sport. Yet he knows the Rooney Rule, designed to advance opportunities for minorities in such areas as coaching and front-office positions, hasn’t been having the desired effect.
This month, the NFL implemented a seven-point mobility plan that it projects will enhance such chances and lead to more diversity throughout a league in which about 70 per cent of the players are minorities.
“We had to examine all we do and have done, and obviously things had not been working, so it took a complete reform,” Vincent told The Associated Press.
“This resolution is another step in the right direction.” OZZIE NEWSOME NFL WORKPLACE DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
“The resolution adopted is just a complement to what we have done in the expansion of the Rooney Rule through the years, and the media policy and the anti-tampering policy. It complements those other points of league and club education, and having diversity and equity-inclusion plans. It complements the identification of talent, the developing of talent, and networking of talent. Universal data collection and the reporting and measuring of the metrics.
“Now let’s see how we measure at the end.”
The end game is a long way off, of course. But even incremental steps are significant with only two general managers of colour in the league. Of the 30 fulltime coaches, only four are minorities; both the interim coaches in Houston (Romeo Crennel) and Atlanta (Raheem Morris) are Black.
The recent resolution calls for draft picks as a reward to organizations for developing minority coaches and front-office executives who become head coaches, GMs or team presidents for other clubs.
The plan focuses directly on explaining the responsibilities of the 32 clubs; the flow of information and who has access to it; developmental programs such as fellowships (the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship and the Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship Program have had a solid effect on hirings); accountability; making coaches more available to media to increase their profiles; and establishing a pathway for progress.
“The NFL continues taking strides to become a more inclusive and diverse league,” said Pro Football Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome, who built Super Bowl champions in Baltimore as a rare Black general manager in the league. Newsome serves on the NFL Workplace Diversity Committee. “Hopefully new opportunities and additional upward mobility will be created for coaches and personnel across the league. There’s still much work to do, but this resolution is another step in the right direction,” he said.