The changes the NFL made to the Rooney Rule this week will alter future coaching and front office interview practices. But based on the current landscape, the latest rule overhaul may not immediately result in the hiring of more minority coaches.
Teams with head-coaching vacancies are now mandated to interview two minority candidates. They are also required to conduct multiracial job searches to fill offensive and defensive coordinator roles, which should create more opportunities for minority position coaches. Tuesday’s change to the coordinator job circuit — with teams now unable to block under-contract position coaches from interviewing for coordinator jobs, so long as they come with play-calling responsibilities — will also fast-track the next wave of guru types of all races.
Because the vast majority of coaches in the NFL's top two offensive assistant positions are white, however, the problem of a lack of minority head coaches may take years to fix.
Of the 32 teams, 30 employ white offensive coordinators (or white head coaches who hold both titles) — a more lopsided split than the league's 28-4 white-to-minority head coach ratio. Since 2015, teams have combined to fill 83 offensive coordinator positions, with six going to minority candidates. And one of those (Edgar Bennett with the Packers in 2015) was a title bump that did not come with play-calling responsibilities.
This year, white assistants filled all 10 offensive coordinator vacancies. This mix of hires came from recently fired head coaches (Pat Shurmur in Denver, Jay Gruden in Jacksonville and Jason Garrett with the Giants), second-chance OCs (Bill Lazor in Chicago and Kevin O'Connell in L.A.), through the quarterback-coaching pipeline (Alex Van Pelt, Cincinnati and Scott Turner, Washington) and from the college ranks (Joe Brady, Carolina). Chan Gailey (Miami) and Gary Kubiak (Minnesota) are also former head coaches but had settled in as assistants in recent years.
The top OC-feeder job (quarterbacks coach) consists of nearly all white staffers as well. Thirty teams employ a white QBs coach or a coach who holds this responsibility, with the Colts’ Marcus Brady and Chargers’ Pep Hamilton representing the only minorities in these posts. Even when defensive and special teams coordinator positions are included, the NFL's five highest-profile coaching jobs currently feature an alarming 137-23 white/minority split.
Minority candidates’ pathways through today’s most popular route to head-coaching positions — the offensive innovator avenue — are nearly closed. The 2021 hiring period, then, should unearth new candidates of color (beyond Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, who seems a lock to land a job). With so few minority assistants in key positions on offensive staffs, teams must scour lower-profile nooks to find mandatory interviewees.
So now, teams searching for 2021's Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan will enjoy freer rein to poach assistants. With white QB coaches dwarfing their minority peers in numbers, it is not hard to see them benefiting from the change first. This week’s adjustments should help overall, but true change will not happen until teams hire more offense-trained assistants of color.
The NFL has mostly afforded non-white coaches chances on the defensive side of the ball. Historically, of the 21 black or Latino coaches to be given HC opportunities — excluding Fritz Pollard, who coached briefly in the 1920s — six had offensive backgrounds. The Chargers' Anthony Lynn represents the only active minority head coach with an offensive-oriented skill set, and he enters 2020 on the hot seat.
This is not to say teams have definitively erred by not hiring minority coaches. Organizations are free to hire their preferred coach, but with defense-based candidates becoming less popular in recent years, the optics worsened. The 2019 offseason — when the Bengals, Broncos, Browns, Cardinals and Jets replaced black coaches with white candidates, four of whom brought expertise on the offensive side of the ball — crystallized the problem and likely accelerated this week’s changes.
In recent hiring periods, teams have increasingly coveted play-calling innovator types. White coaches — from the 49ers' Shanahan to the Rams' McVay to the Cardinals' Kliff Kingsbury to Patriots OC Josh McDaniels — have dominated this genre of candidate. Minority candidates, for the most part, have instead carried leadership appeal. The lack of diversity among the offensive coaching ranks helped shape these perceptions. But offense-geared skill sets might become even more popular thanks to Tuesday's change.
Teams being unable to block top assistants from interviewing for offensive coordinator jobs elsewhere may lead to franchises, for stability purposes, further prioritizing head-coaching candidates who call plays. Play-calling HCs represented both sides in Super Bowl LIV (Shanahan and Andy Reid), and the previous two NFC champions featured play-calling HCs (McVay, Doug Pederson). This is a good way to ensure continuity crucial to developing young quarterbacks, but such a trend could work against the group the NFL is trying to aid.
Thirty-one franchises feature white play-callers, with Reid primarily calling the Chiefs' plays over Bieniemy. Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich is the league’s only minority offensive play-caller.
The NFL’s effort to increase diversity in front offices stands to help reshape coaching staffs to some degree. Only two GMs (the Dolphins’ Chris Grier and the Browns’ Andrew Berry) are black. But considering how desolate the most common routes to head-coaching positions are for minorities, the NFL could be battling this issue for some time.
While the head-coaching component of the new system will receive the most attention when certain teams conduct job searches next year, monitoring the offensive coordinator interview circuit will be critical. Observing how this landscape evolves will require a long-lens outlook, but this will be the area to study to determine if the NFL is genuine about repairing its broken coaching pipeline.
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The Cincinnati Bengals have finally reached an agreement with first-round pick Shemar Stewart, putting an end to what became the story of the offseason for the team. Stewart, drafted 17th overall in this year's draft, has finally agreed to a four-year, fully guaranteed $18.97 million deal that includes a $10.4 million signing bonus, according to his agent Zac Hiller of LAA. Now with this deal done, every first-round pick is signed. The road to this deal was a bumpy ride. For months, negotiations between Stewart’s camp and the Bengals front office stalled due to disagreements over contract language, particularly around guarantees. The team pushed to include contract language that could void the deal under certain off-field circumstances, but since other Bengals first-round picks did not face similar terms, Stewart stood firm and refused to sign. Both sides remained firm throughout the offseason, leading to a long standoff and a lot of reports of frustration from both sides. Despite the frustration and disagreement, the Bengals and Stewart’s group continued to engage in conversations, trying to find a resolution to the issue. And finally, after weeks of back and forth and weeks of controversy surrounding what Stewart may be forced to do, both parties appear to have met in the middle and found common ground. For the Bengals, getting Stewart signed and ready for training camp is a major win. Stewart was viewed as a developmental prospect who needed plenty of on-field reps to reach his full potential. Stewart's absence from earlier camps had slowed a lot of his progress. With the contract dispute resolved, he can now focus entirely on gaining important reps and continuing his development over the coming weeks. Now with this contract done and over with, the team can put their full focus on Trey Hendrickson, who is also seeking a long term deal. If the Bengals can get a deal done with Trey before the season kicks off, they would secure their edge-rushing room for not only 2025, but for years beyond. For a team looking to go all in on making the playoffs, signing Stewart was long overdue. Now it will be vital for the team to get Stewart up to speed with the rest of the roster, and allow him to get as many reps as possible before the 2025 season begins.
The Seattle Storm are looking to make things right after Tuesday’s 87-63 blowout loss to Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings. They get a chance to do so on Thursday when they return to action against the Chicago Sky in a road game at Wintrust Arena. The Storm got a big boost ahead of the Sky matchup, which comes in the form of seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins returning to action after a one-game absence. After registering the first triple-double in WNBA All-Star Game history on Saturday, Diggins was unable to suit up against Dallas on Tuesday due to personal reasons. The 5-foot-9 guard was not listed on Seattle’s injury report for the Sky game, though, which means that Diggins should be back in the starting lineup come Thursday. This is a crucial development for the Storm, who will be looking to improve on their 14-10 record. In 23 games played this season, Diggins has produced averages of 17.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 triples per game. Chicago Sky List Angel Reese as Questionable to Play Against the Seattle Storm While the Storm got some good news ahead of Thursday’s clash, the same cannot be said for the Sky. This is after two-time All-Star forward Angel Reese was added to the injury report with a back problem. The silver lining is that Reese, who missed Chicago’s last game before the All-Star break with a leg injury, is listed as questionable to play, which means that there’s still a chance that she’s able to suit up against Seattle. Reese looked fine on Tuesday as Chicago suffered a 91-68 blowout loss to the Minnesota Lynx, posting an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double. It is unclear exactly when Reese sustained the injury, but it has now placed her status against Seattle in jeopardy. It is worth noting that Michaela Onyenwere (knee) and Ariel Atkins (leg) have also been ruled out for the Storm game, as they continue to recover from respective injuries. This only means that Chicago will be significantly shorthanded on Thursday, especially if Reese also ends up sitting out.
For years, the Sacramento Kings have struggled due to a lack of size and athleticism, especially at the forward positions. But new GM Scott Perry has a goal to address that team need this offseason to help move Keegan Murray to a different spot in certain lineups. The Kings came into the offseason with two main goals: to add a lead point guard and to add length and athleticism. They brought in Dennis Schröder to solve their point guard needs, but haven't fully addressed the need to add wing depth. They drafted Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud, who both bring good size, but neither fits the 3/4 prototype of a 6-foot-8 to 6-foot-10 wing that could help Keegan Murray on the frontcourt. But it appears that the need is still on Scott Perry's mind, as he stated when he joined Sactown Sports 1140 on the Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross. "It's always on my radar to get better. That position, the four position, if a team has a good four-man, they're holding on to him," Perry stated. "In an ideal world, I'd like to be able to get Keegan more opportunities playing the small forward to allow us to play bigger as a team. " With the roster as currently constructed, the Kings' only backup power forward options are Dario Saric, who may be more of a center at this point in his career, and second-year big Isaac Jones. Doug McDermott could fill in, but he's a little undersized for the power forward spot and the Kings shouldn't go into the season relying on him for more than a shooting spark off the bench. It's also possible that Raynaud gets some time at the power forward spot, as he has the potential to be able to play next to Domantas Sabonis thanks to his outside shooting. But again, he's not the switchable wing that is so valuable in today's NBA. The Kings are still tied to restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, with the two sides meeting for the first time in recent days, with the meeting going well between Perry and Kuminga. Bringing in the 22-year-old wing would certainly solve the problem that the Kings are facing and give them extra size on the wings. A duo of Kuminga and Murray would be the best forward duo the Kings have had in recent years, potentially passing Harrison Barnes and Murray. What will be interesting to see what happens if the Kings strike out on Kuminga and are unable to get a sign and trade done with the Warriors. Perry seems to be patient going into next season, taking his time to build the roster in a way that fits his long term vision. There are a few options out there, including Precious Achiuwa and Kai Jones, or they could look to bring Trey Lyles, who they can go over the cap to sign since they have his bird rights. For now, we appear to be stuck in a wait-and-see situation until the Kuminga deal is resolved, but it's at least good news that Perry still has the power forward spot on his mind as the offseason continues.
Michigan and Ohio State are sure to play another spirited game on the gridiron this season, but it sounds like there will be no flag planting afterward regardless of the outcome. Michigan won its fourth straight game against Ohio State last season, and the Wolverines' latest victory was the biggest upset the rivalry has seen in years. The eventual national champion Buckeyes were ranked No. 2 in the country when an unranked Michigan team went into Columbus and beat them, 13-10. A huge scrum broke out after the game when Michigan players stood on Ohio State's midfield logo and pretended to plant their flag in enemy territory. The brawl got so out of hand that stadium police wound up using pepper spray. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said his players will not be partaking in any flag-planting activity going forward. "There will be no more flag planting. There will be no more grabbing the flag," Moore said. "We talked about our new tradition and what we do when we win a game is go beat the band, go sing our (fight song) and stay over there until the other team departs. That's how we'll operate — shake hands after the game, show sportsmanship, be cordial." While there has been no formal ban of flag planting, Ohio State coach Ryan Day also expressed opposition to the act after last year's incident. Ohio State and Michigan have one of the best rivalries in sports, so there is always going to be bad blood between the two programs. Moore and Day are doing what they can to make sure things don't get out of hand again the next time their teams meet.