First Down
One story that flew under the NFL radar this week was the league’s new diversity hiring policy.
A quick recap.
Teams that have minority head coaches or general managers hired away from their organization will be awarded two third-round compensatory picks.
This plan has drawn a lot of ire from people of color and teams.
It will hinder teams from hiring interdivisional candidates and the league didn’t talk to minorities while crafting this program. It seems to be something that was thrown together to address an issue the league has always faced; giving people of color head coaching and front office positions.
The biggest issue is that this looks like a modern day affirmative action program. A “reward” for teams to do something they should be doing anyway.
Here’s the thing about diversity and making sure your organization mirros society.
Owners need to want to do it. They need to see the value of it on their own; not through a rewards program like a local grocery store. Hiring a person of color just to hire them does nothing for both parties. And, over time, teams will find ways to euro-step this policy and make a mockery out of it like the Rooney Rule.
In 2003 the Rooney Rule, named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney, was put in place as a way to give ethnic-minority candiates a “seat at the table.” Teams that had a head coach or senior-level operations position open had to interview someone of color before filling the position. At face value it sounds like a great idea but in reality it didn’t stick long-term.
After twelve years the league seemed to have been going in the right direction; 14 non-white coaches were hired.
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Today?
Last offseason there were eight NFL teams searching for a head coach. Only one, the Dolphis, hired a person of color. Now there are only THREE non-white head coaches in a league that’s 70% black. Teams are now interviewing people of color but it’s clear those people don’t have a legitimate shot at the position.
The Raiders wanted Jon Gruden but interviewed two minority candidates that weren’t identified. The Eagles “interviewed” Duece Staley in 2016 before hiring Doug Pederson.
These interviews, along with many others, are just items on a checklist teams have to accomplish before hiring the person they’ve wanted since the beginning. It’s also fair to talk about owners/GMs are hiring people they’re familiar with and most of the time those people aren’t minorities.
Now some of you bozos love screaming; “IT SHOULDN’T BE ABOUT RACE IT’S ABOUT THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB!”
Again, that’s correct in theory but doesn’t stick in reality.
Jim Caldwell was hired by the Lions in 2014. Throughout his four seasons in Detroit his overall record was 36-28 with two playoff appearances. After a disappointing 9-7 season in 2017 the Lions fired him and GM Bob Quinn dropped this gem.
nine wins is not nearly good enough for what we want.
So the Lions went out and hired Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
What’s his record through 2.5 years?
13-27
He’s almost lost as many games as Caldwell in about half the time.
This is a prime example of what minorities mean when they complain about opportunity.
The amount of failure non-white coaches can have before getting canned is vastly shorter than their counterparts.
Want a few more examples?
Patricia’s colleague Josh McDaniels left the Patriots offensive coordinator job in 2009 to take the head coaching job in Denver. After two seasons he was fired. His name was also linked to filming San Francisco’s walkthrough during a trip to London.
After that Josh got the offensive coordinator job in St. Louis for the 2011 season. After one season in the NFC West McDaniels returned to New England and has been there since. A little rocky but still kind of okay, right?
There’s more.
In 2018 the Colts announced McDaniels as their head coach. After the announcement Josh withdrew his name from the position and decided to stay in New England.
That’s unforgivable, right? You give your word to coach a team then renege AFTER the announcement has been made? Surely that’s the end of his career outside of New England.
WRONG.
Josh’s name has been linked to head coaching gigs and he’s a hot candidate for a few jobs this offseason.
The most frustrating part?
Caldwell took a leave of absence for health reasons last year but was still a consultant for the Dolphins. He is doing a lot better and appears to be ready to come back to the NFL. He’ll probably get an offensive coordinator job but he’ll never be a head coach again.
Matt Patricia will be fired this offseason, get a defensive coordinator gig, have a mediocre defense for two years then will be right back in the mix for a head coaching gig.
There’s plenty of minority talent that’s waiting to usher in a new era of professional football. The owners are just too lazy to go to the spaces those candidates exist.
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