NFL Makes Changes To Rooney Rule To Include Women And Will Require Every Team Hire One Minority Offensive Coach

The NFL is doing everything it can to make sure minorities get their fair shake in the interviewing process.

The National Football League announced that is now requiring all 32 teams to hire a “female or member of an ethnic minority” as an offensive assistant coach for the 2022 season.

The league also announced that women will be included in Rooney Rule requirements. Women were only previously required to satisfy the rule for club president and senior executive

“It’s a recognition that at the moment, when you look at stepping stones for a head coach, they are the coordinator positions,” said Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who is the chairman of the NFL Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. “We clearly have a trend where coaches are coming from the offensive side of the ball in recent years, and we clearly do not have as many minorities in the offensive coordinator [job].”

inlineg

The league shared that “this resolution will assist greatly in continuing to source and identify diverse candidates earlier in their career, providing pipeline depth and furthering developing the diverse offensive pipeline.” 

With head coaches as of late having “predominantly offensive backgrounds,” the league hopes the latest rile updates will spark some change. 

“While we have made important progress, we have more work ahead of us to ensure we are approaching [diversity, equity, and inclusion] holistically — including the need to evaluate and adjust policies, incentives, and additional requirements to ensure effectiveness and result in better outcomes for women and people of color.”