The Rooney Rule was implemented to help with minority coaching hired, but three black former NFL head coaches, including Tony Dungy, came out and said the league needs to change the guidelines.
According to the Associated Press, Dungy and the other coaches said that after 15 top vacancies, including eight head coaching jobs and seven general manager positions, were filled by all white candidates, the league needs to rethink the Rooney Rule and how it is implemented.
"I know the concept is good and something we need to do," said Tony Dungy, who was with the Indianapolis Colts during the 2006 season when he became the first black coach to win a Super Bowl. "Obviously, it's not working the way it should."
The Rooney Rule was put in place in 2003 and was named after named for Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, who was one of the driving forces behind making sure that every team interviewed at least one minority candidate every time there is a coaching or general manager opening.
Prior to the rule implementation, the NFL was one of the worst leagues for minorities in coaching positions. There were only six m minority coaches in the NFL in more than 80 years prior to the rule. Since then, there have been 12 hired.
This year the controversy went mainstream since there were so many coaching and general manager openings after the 2012 season. Two black coaches, Romeo Crennel in Kansas City and Lovie Smith in Chicago, and one black general manager, Rod Graves in Arizona, were fired after the season.
After the hiring process was over, all 15 positions were taken by white men. Many cried foul, especially in the case of Lovie Smith, who was overlooked for some positions despite winnign 10 games in 2012. For a comparison, Andy Reid went 4-12 with the Eagles and was hired as the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Comedian Chris Rock explained the situation perfectly on Twitter, writing: "Andy Reid wins 4 games and everybody wants him Lovie smith wins 10 games and can't get a job."
Herm Edwards, former coach of the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs and now an ESPN analyst, said that rule should be changed as well as its name.
"When you use the Rooney Rule and not correctly, you put a little bit of a bad mark on Mr. Rooney's name, and that is not good," Edwards said Wednesday. "If it keeps going this way, we might need to take his name off the rule. It is not being used in the right manner that Mr. Rooney meant it to be."
According to ESPN.com, Robert Gulliver, the NFL's executive vice president of human resources, said that the hiring results were "disappointing" and that he expects to make revisions in the rule.
Some have suggested that expanding the Rooney Rule to coordinator jobs could also help.
Jim Caldwell, who was the head coach after Dungy with the Colts, was promoted to offensive coordinator for the Ravens after the team fired Cam Cameron. Caldwell was not invited to interview for any jobs since his team was still playing in the postseason.
"It has been a great rule and it has worked in the past," Caldwell said. "Just like anything else, you have to, after a certain period of time, revisit it and take a look and see if it needs a little tweaking. I think it does in this particular case."
Many in the media, including Dungy and Edwards have said that there should be a freeze on hires until after the postseason so not to leave coaches still working out in the cold.
Caldwell added: "That's one of the reasons that the Rooney Rule was put in place, because you're trying to avoid those situations, if possible. We're at that stage where guys like Lovie Smith, who didn't get an opportunity, who had won and been very successful previously ... obviously, there's some concern there, and that's why I think the rule is going to be revisited."
Dungy is thinking of more of a complete overhaul of a system he calls "broken". He noted that there were 21 coaching jobs changing in a three-year span, which he said indicates owners are making the wrong hires regardless of race.
Currently there are four minority coaches: Tomlin, Frazier in Minnesota, Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati and Ron Rivera in Carolina. Minority general managers include Baltimore's Ozzie Newsome, Detroit's Martin Mayhew, Houston's Rick Smith, the New York Giants' Jerry Reese and Oakland's Reggie McKenzie.
"I am not saying you have to hire a minority candidate. No one is saying that," Edwards said. "I am saying you can't be blinded. It can't be, 'Who is the guy to interview to get this out of the way?' "
"The problem I have is you don't really abide by the Rooney Rule the correct way," he said.
