Do you think you’re bettering them or yourself? Every Black man in the NFL should ask himself that question before agreeing to an interview to become a head coach. As David Shaw demonstrates, the answer to the question is a very personal one that impacts many.
The Los Angeles Chargers “completed an interview with David Shaw for their head coaching job, They’re now in compliance with the Rooney Rule,” according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The scenario presented an explosive opportunity for Twitter (now known as X). The Chargers are likely to hire the white coach of their choice, so this interview cleared the team of any unethical behavior. However, a white reporter who has long been accused of carrying the league’s water was warning fans that a black head coach who many—black and white—feel doesn’t have a shot at landing one of these vacancies.
It’s the same thing every year at this time. Many available vacancies. Despite the number of blacks who were interviewed in accordance with the Rooney Rule, there are very few, if any, black hiring. And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will comment at some point after the positions are filled.
“But when you say frustration, you mean that I’m probably always frustrated with how quickly things are progressing?” Goodell stated in October following the owners’ vote to postpone in-person interviews until beyond the postseason divisional round. “It never seems like enough to you. It’s clear that there is work to be done, and the clubs are fully committed to making this shift sustainable. In my opinion, that’s where the ownership lies.
Shaw “has long been a target of NFL teams,” according to Schefter, who also stated that “in back-to-back years, he has been interviewed for the Broncos and Chargers head coaching jobs.” Shaw was also interviewed by the Titans. A black “candidate” who had no coaching experience in 2023 has had at least three interviews in the last two years.
It’s not “mathing” the math.
There is plenty of evidence to see the games that owners play when it comes to the Rooney Rule, even in the face of Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the league for allegedly discriminatory hiring practices, which is expected to go to court soon. This is especially true in a league where a team, the Houston Texans, hired and fired Black coaches, David Culley and Lovie Smith, in back-to-back seasons.
The Rooney Rule’s continued existence is evidence of a persistent issue, and the situation is made worse by the specifics, such as the fact that Major League Soccer has a more stringent Rooney Rule than the original league. In 2021, the Major League Soccer (MLS) modified the rule to mandate that two or more non-white, black or African American candidates be included in the finalist pool for available positions. Additionally, organizations must consider candidates with similar backgrounds and resumes to prevent teams from hiring a lower-tier black assistant coach in order to meet their quota. In that same year, the NFL expanded the Rooney Rule to “mandate teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for positions as coordinators and general manager/executive of football operations.”
Executive vice president and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer of MLS Sola Winley told ESPN at the time that “there is a commitment from across the organization to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive league, one that is reflective of who it is that we say we want to be.”
Simone Biles must be envious of the hoops the NFL keeps putting herself through in the name of false diversity. It’s really absurd that Bill Walsh, a white man, is the namesake of the NFL’s diversity coaching fellowship. Situations such as this cannot be taken seriously by this league. For if they were genuinely “frustrated,” as Goodell said, Brett, a white man from Australia, wouldn’t be the head of NFL Africa.
Only two of the eight head coaching positions were filled as of Tuesday morning. Jerod Mayo in New England and Antonio Pierce in Las Vegas. Although Mayo’s contract had a succession clause and Pierce was Vegas’ interim coach, both of the new hires had conditions attached to them. Guys like Shaw and Eric Bieniemy haven’t experienced such “luxury.” In 2024, finding out if you’re a candidate or a part of a quota is just as important to the predicament of black coaches as the unfairness and lack of opportunity that come with trying to break into the NFL.
