The NFL is expanding its policy on minorities in coaching to include women as part of its effort to address diversity concerns within the league.
Each of the NFL’s 32 teams will be required to hire a minority offensive assistant coach for the 2022 season. The league’s newly adopted policy states that coach can be “a female or a member of an ethnic or racial minority.”
“It’s a recognition that at the moment, when you look at stepping stones for a head coach, they are the coordinator positions,” Art Rooney II, Pittsburgh Steelers owner and chairman of the NFL Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, told ESPN. “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].”
The NFL’s Rooney Rule has required teams to interview two outside ethnic or racial minorities for top positions, including the head coach. Women were added as another way to fulfill that requirement, although teams may still choose to only interview ethnic or racial minorities.
“The truth of the matter is that as of today, at least, there aren’t many women in the pool in terms of head coach,” Rooney said. “We hope that is going to change over the years, but for that reason, we didn’t see it as inhibiting the number of interviews for racial minorities at this point in time. Obviously, we can address that as time goes on, but for now, we didn’t see that as an issue.”
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Several mocking social media posts have emerged.
Each team will have to also have a biologist on staff to determine if new Rooney Rule candidates are actually women.
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NFL: All teams must add minority offensive coach https://t.co/GmoYMWLie5 #nfl #rooneyrule— Matt (@matt0999) March 29, 2022
“Each team will have to also have a biologist on staff to determine if new Rooney Rule candidates are actually women,” one Twitter user wrote, referencing Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s inability to define a woman during her recent confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Another post called the updated policy insulting.
“Just when you thought the NFL couldn’t get more embarrassing!” a Twitter user posted. “Who’s going to listen to a TOKEN Coach? Minorities, and women should feel insulted! NFL is going in reverse, they were doing this BS in the 70’s! It was PC, Woke then, and it’s PC, Woke now!”
Just when you thought the NFL couldn’t get more embarrassing! Who’s going to listen to a TOKEN Coach? Minorities, and women should feel insulted! NFL is going in reverse, they were doing this BS in the 70’s! It was PC, Woke then, and it’s PC, Woke now! #NFL?
— A-Clear-View? (@Rlohr5) March 29, 2022
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There are currently 15 minorities among the NFL’s defensive coordinators for 2022 — a league record, according to ESPN. Minority coaches now make up 39% of the league’s overall coaching staff, up 4% since 2021. For the first time in league history, there are also 12 women on NFL coaching staff.
