NFL Makes Changes To Rooney Rule, Tomlin Not Optimistic: Report

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — The NFL announced changes to its hiring practices, particularly in regards to the Rooney Rule, on Monday at the league owner's meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, according to a report from ESPN.

All 32 teams must hire a minority offensive assistant coach for the 2022 season, and the Rooney Rule is being expanded to include women, according to the report.

The coach can be a "woman or a member of an ethnic or racial minority," according to the policy and will be paid from a league-wide fund for at least two years, and teams with a minority coach in an offensive position already will be able to count that coach toward the rule. The person will receive a one-year contract and work closely with the head coach and offensive staff to gain experience.

The rule is being implemented to help minority coaches move through the pipeline to become head coaches, a pipeline that has skewed more toward the offensive side of the ball in recent years.

"We recognize we have seen progress on some fronts," said Rooney, chairman of the league's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, "but we still have a way to go on other fronts."

The Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching positions, was first implemented in 2003 and has undergone several adjustments, including the expansion of other high-profile positions such as team executives to the list.

The NFL saw an increase in the number of people of color in all coaching positions from 35 percent in the 2020 season to 39 percent last season. There was an all-time high increase in defensive coordinators to 15, up by two; an increase in minority GMs (five to seven), and assistant GMs (three to six). There were 12 women in various coaching positions last season, an all-time high.

The league also announced a resolution to increase minority ownership of league teams and set up a diversity advisory committee of outside voices to aid the league in diversity measures. The committee includes former Houston Texans GM Rick Smith.

The changes come on the heels of a lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores accusing the league and several teams of discriminatory hiring practices. Flores was hired to a position on the Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff in the offseason.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told ESPN's Brooke Pryor he didn't hire Flores as a favor or because he thought he wouldn't get hired but that because he was getting a "more than qualified coach."

Tomlin, who is Black, didn't express optimism about the new league rules, however.

"I don't have a level of confidence that would lead me to believe that things are going to be better," Tomlin told Pryor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.