Report: NFL owners table proposal to incentivize minority hirings
NFL team owners tabled during a virtual meeting Tuesday the resolution to incentivize minority hirings of coaches and general managers with improved draft picks, a source told Jim Trotter of NFL.com.
The proposal was met with a mixed response, and it appears the league will look to reevaluate and amend it before putting it to a vote in the future.
This is generally what they do if they don’t think there is enough support for a proposal — go back to the drawing board to improve it rather than let it fail. https://t.co/J8Y5L7Bq3O
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) May 19, 2020
Under the resolution, a team would climb six spots in the third round of the draft preceding a minority head coach's second season, and it would move up 10 spots in the third round preceding a minority general manager's second season. An organization that hires both a minority head coach and minority GM in the same year could rise 16 spots.
The league did sign off on changes to the Rooney Rule on Tuesday, most notably the requirement for teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach openings and one minority candidate for any coordinator role. Previously, every club had to interview at least one minority candidate for a head coach or GM vacancy before making a hire.
Owners also voted to approve a resolution that will prevent teams from blocking position coaches from interviewing for outside coordinator positions.
The Rooney Rule, named after former Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, was established in 2003.
The NFL came under fire this offseason after minority candidates struggled to land top positions.