re: Rooney rule is a joke

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At the start of the 2006 season, the overall percentage of African American coaches had jumped to 22%, up from 6% prior to the Rooney Rule.

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So?

Is this because of the Rooney Rule, or because there are more qualified black coaches?

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At the start of the 2006 season, the overall percentage of African American coaches had jumped to 22%, up from 6% prior to the Rooney Rule.

The joke is the racial inequality across the board in the coaches ranks. Don't even look at a college. Rules not perfect but it's good.

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i'm with you head coach!

and while we arte busy correcting this "joke", lets go ahead and fix some other glaring inequities in the game of football at the NFL level.

please tell me, exactly what percentage of starting NFL RBs are white? how about some more white corners and WRs. oh, i guess WRs are OK because of the largent rule we have a few 'possession' guys.

i say this somewhat tounge in cheek, because i think a person would have to be pretty naive to believe that racial prejudice didn't have a profound effect on the number of black head football coaches.

what i take issue with is that 1- the lack of black head coaches is a 'problem' and 2- the logic of the NFL is xx % black ergo we should have xx % head coaches.

if you say that the lack of black head coaches is a problem (because it has it's foundation in racial prejudice) then you have to say the same about running backs, CB and WR. go down to any suburban park ball team you want and you will generally find the beginnings of this. based on their racial prejudices, the coaches are usually going to put the black kids at certain positions. using the same logic on the black coach arguement, young white children in our society don't see white players at RB to emulate.

again, is this the worst problem our society faces?

as for the percentage of coaches matching the percentage of players, i think one factor that is often overlooked is the playing backgrounds of most coaches.

very few current NFL coaches are former NFL star players. as a matter of fact, playing in the league isn't really a prerequisite.

i honestly don't think that we are at a point in our society where we can say everyone has an equal opportunity regardless of the color of their skin. we still do need to be mindful of working toward that goal.

but forcing a team who knows they want to go after ONE MAN to be their coach to interview a black person really seems irrational. any good it may do is overshadowed by the fact that most logical people will view it as irrational, and it becomes counter productive.

there are going to wind up being some things in life that aren't fair. if leslie frazier didn't get a chance to interview for the seattle job, well neither did some similarly qualified white assistant. rex ryan had an easier path to a NFL coaching job than i did cause his dad was a coach. am i entitled to an interview?

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The joke is the racial inequality across the board in the coaches ranks.

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whats not equal in the coaching ranks? why does their have to be equal numbers of black to white coaches? Who says what is equal? should it be 50/50? Should it be broken down to the same percentage as the population demographic of the country? If you want make stipulations like this where does it end? Shouldn't these same rules apply to the playing field, where blacks dominate? Or does that not count because whites don't matter?

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Frazier should be insulted

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I heard on one of the tv shows that he has a good shot at the Buffalo job.

To be honest I don't have a problem with the rule.

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The joke is the racial inequality across the board in the coaches ranks. Don't even look at a college. Rules not perfect but it's good.

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The rule is a total abomination. Either you're qualified to be a head coach in college/pros or you're not. Trying to force unqualified coaches into positions of authority based on race and some kind of perceived social injustice is a complete farce..........

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Who could that possibly hurt? And for all of you so offended on behalf of these "token" interviews, why do they keep showing up for them?

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I would say that it hurts the ego of the token black who is 'interviewed' for the job.

Please answer your own question - why DO they keep showing up for an interview? "we are going to hire Pete Carrol, but we need to interview a black man first - you are black, so why don't you drop by in the morning so we can check off this little square in our process."

Why in the world would anyone not say - 'screw you - just check the damned box and write your lawnboy's name on it'

Are these token interviewees paid something for their acquisence in this folly? are they promised something in the future? are they offered watermelon when it is over?? just why WOULD they show up for such a travesty??

My take on the Rooney Rule(Posted in an earlier thread):

As a minority who has coached high school football and college basketball, the Rooney Rule has been more positive than any of you could imagine, especially if you are thinking outside of the box.

1. I have interviewed for several jobs. Some I knew I was going to get an offer and some I knew I had no shot.

2. In each situation, I learned something about the interview process.
*You learn about the types of questions you need to be prepared for in the future.
*You meet the decision makers and you learn what different organizations are looking for in regards to leadership.
*You get to learn how to identify if a situation is stable or if they things are going to continue to move in a negative direction.

I can go on with this list.

3. In the NFL, there are 32 jobs. Frazier from MN will be an NFL Head Coach. In my circle of friends who have spent some time in the NFL, (Short and Long term) NFL stands for Not For Long. So what he doesn't get the job, how long do these guys stay at a job? Hell Mora was given one year at Seattle. Mangini barely kept his job this season. How long did Jim Zorn last?
My point is this, if he makes a great impression during the interview, it will stick with the people who are interviewing him. The GMs, Football Operations people, and VPS move around just like coaches and they keep track of relationships built in their journeys.

Hopefully, this will enlighten some of you on why a Rooney Rule has been helpful to minority coaches. Is it perfect, no, but if these guys take these interviews seriously, it will help them when a legitimate opportunity does arise.

quote:

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My take on the Rooney Rule(Posted in an earlier thread):

As a minority who has coached high school football and college basketball, the Rooney Rule has been more positive than any of you could imagine, especially if you are thinking outside of the box.

1. I have interviewed for several jobs. Some I knew I was going to get an offer and some I knew I had no shot.

2. In each situation, I learned something about the interview process.
*You learn about the types of questions you need to be prepared for in the future.
*You meet the decision makers and you learn what different organizations are looking for in regards to leadership.
*You get to learn how to identify if a situation is stable or if they things are going to continue to move in a negative direction.

I can go on with this list.

3. In the NFL, there are 32 jobs. Frazier from MN will be an NFL Head Coach. In my circle of friends who have spent some time in the NFL, (Short and Long term) NFL stands for Not For Long. So what he doesn't get the job, how long do these guys stay at a job? Hell Mora was given one year at Seattle. Mangini barely kept his job this season. How long did Jim Zorn last?
My point is this, if he makes a great impression during the interview, it will stick with the people who are interviewing him. The GMs, Football Operations people, and VPS move around just like coaches and they keep track of relationships built in their journeys.

Hopefully, this will enlighten some of you on why a Rooney Rule has been helpful to minority coaches. Is it perfect, no, but if these guys take these interviews seriously, it will help them when a legitimate opportunity does arise.

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hardwood tiger, i respect your opinion on this because you have an experience and point of view that i never have.

while i don't support the rule, i can also see the potential benefits of getting experience interviewing and making connections.

what i question is the need for the rule. i don't doubt that racial prejudice still exist somewhat, but i do believe that systematic discrimination and the fact that a black head coach could not be hired are things of the past.

the rule appears designed more to make a political statement in almost some sort of apology for past injustice.

instead, much of what it does is create negative feelings in rational people and potentially create more ammunition for racist. it also creates misunderstandings where some people assume that leslie frazier or the black candidate are some how "unqualified" for the job, as evidenced by the post here.

when the seattle seahawks know there is only one candidate they want to hire, yet are forced to interview another man they are doing society a disservice because they are once again treating the black man "unequally" and "unfairly". they are also discriminating against other white candidates who could also use the interview experience and lack connections.

Hardwood I can see how it would be advantageous to get these interviews regardless of how they come about. I'm just trying to figure out if that's the point? Is it some kind of accelerated learning thing designed to get minority coaches prepped to be on an equal footing 'interviewing skillswise'? Or is it about some kind of affirmative action quota thing?

I guess my question is, should it still be around 10 years from now? 20? 100? At what point does it become racist itself? Or is that even possible?

I can see how it may have helped get more black coaches employed but honestly, I think that would have happened the same without it. I can't think of anybody that would interview a guy like Tony Dungy and think anything other than JACKPOT! I mean, the NFL is a business. You try to hire the people that will help your team win and thus make more money.

At what point do the black coaches there start getting offended by what this rule implies?

Owners talk... If he has a good interview it could benefit him. It will also give him an idea for future interviews.

Will he get the job.. no I can see you can be extremely negative about this.