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The National Football League has urged teams for years to hire more minority head coaches.
That mission finally seems to be paying off.
Four minority head coaches have been hired this year, including Atlanta’s Raheem Morris, New England’s Jerod Mayo, Las Vegas’ Antonio Pierce and Carolina’s Dave Canales, bringing the number of coaches of color entering the 2024 season to nine, the most in league history. Seattle and Washington have yet to fill their vacancies.
Dr. Richard Lapchick, founder of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics In Sport, called it a “major milestone” for the NFL.
“The league has been struggling to raise the percentage of head coaches of color, particularly Black head coaches,” Lapchick told The Associated Press. “The NFL has worked hard to put programs in place to make this happen and the rewards have finally come home.”
The NFL originally created the Rooney Rule in 2003 to promote the number of minority head coaches (and later general managers and executives) by requiring teams to interview at least one person of color before making a hire.
The league further expanded the rule in 2020, incentivizing teams to hire minority assistant coaches by awarding compensatory draft picks if they lose a minority coach or top football executive to another team. NFL rules stipulate teams receive third-round selections in each of the next two drafts — or each of the next three drafts if two minority employees are hired by another team — providing the candidates were with the team for at least two years.
So, while the Rams will receive two third-rounders for losing Morris to the Falcons, the Buccaneers will not get any, since Canales was only with the organization for one season.
“I’m very pleased at what is happening around the league,” said Ron Rivera, who is Hispanic and a former head coach in Carolina and Washington. “I think when you have to put incentives into place to hire minorities, it probably tells you that something needs to change. But…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfl-reaches-major-milestone-with-record-nine-minority-head-coaches-in-2024
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Publish date : 2024-01-26 18:03:08
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