Yahoo! Sports columnist Michael Silver wrote that because all of the newly-hired coaches in the NFL happen to be white, the NFL “seems to be regressing” and “going backward” as American society, in his eyes, is “getting increasingly progressive when it comes to social issues.”
“In an era in which American society seems to be getting increasingly progressive when it comes to social issues, from acceptance of gay marriage to the reelection of a black president, the NFL seems to be going backward,” Silver wrote.
The NFL this year had eight head coach vacancies. And after the Arizona Cardinals hired former Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, all eight jobs were filled by white men. Silver noted five of the seven openings for general manager have also been filled by white men.
Silver added that “a lot of very qualified and proficient men are baffled at the way the NFL seems to be regressing as we enter the early stages of the 21st century.” Silver–along with ESPN football reporter Adam Schefter–have been highlighting this issue. Schefter has reported various groups intend to make this year’s coaching hirings an issue.
Silver has also made the observation that NFL owners seem to be hiring offensive gurus, and there are not that many black coordinators or quarterbacks coaches. The NFL, according to reports, may want to institute the “Rooney Rule” to mandate NFL teams interview minorities for vacant coordinator positions.
As Dan Rooney, whom the “Rooney Rule” is named after, said, though, there were fewer complaints about the NFL’s co-called lack of diversity when minority coaches were being hired. Perhaps, Rooney argued, the minority coaches who interviewed for jobs this year did not fit the type of coach the various owners were looking for this year.
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