Rooney Rule need to be changed?

[Gooch1034]

It is not illegal to be racist. If an owner wants to skip on the best coach for the job based on race, go right ahead and be a dumb ass. What about if the owner of the team is a minority tho? Bottom line is its a stupid rule and I agree with the others, its a racist rule in itself.

 

[JDM]

I don't agree JDM. I think the rule gets potentail black coaches "face time" It does not get them the job. Even if a black candidate is not hired as coach of that particular team, it does help them get noticed and get chances with other teams.

It is a form of "affirmative action" But it does not require the hiring, just the interview. If it required the hiring, it would be just as harmful for "racial tensions" as affirmative action was. As it is, there is no harm.....

The fact that it brings attention to the idea that race should be considered makes it every bit as damaging as affirmative action. The message that gets picked up as a result of this policy is that minorities are inferior and need extra help.

I know you don't have that conscious thought, and neither do most people. But if you look into the research on what kind of messages get spread subliminally and unconscious communication, that's what people pick up. The more public and visible the stronger the message, although it will not reach the level of conscious thought. That's the message that subliminally gets spread, and that does far more damage than a little bit of extra face time that won't be taken seriously unless the coach was already on the teams's radar.

 

[flaraider]

I think it at least puts a body up that they might not have considered otherwise, not much but it is something.

 

[redseat]

I think it at least puts a body up that they might not have considered otherwise, not much but it is something.

Yeah, but it's not like said person really is even truly being "considered" and comes back to the whole "token black guy" persona again.

 

[gvsulaker82]

WEEI was talking about the Rooney Rule this morning on my ride into work and they brought up a good point (sort of). Andy Reid was fired on a Monday and Hired on a Friday. Which means he was going to be the coach no matter what... How quickly do you think the Chiefs really "interviewd" someone for the job. I mean I heard they interview a Special Teams coach for the Head job. Now honestly did that particular guy really have a shot at being a HC? NO!

So clearly teams are getting around the rule. I just use the Cheifs as an example because it was just brought up.

So should it be changed? I mean it clearly is getting "worked around"

Yes it should be changed as in it shouldnt exist. The best candidates should be interviewed regardless of race. This whole race thing is ridiculous. I dont see rules out there that state every team has to interview a least one woman, one homosexual, one person under the age of 30 etc so why does there need to be one for people that arent white?

 

[RegentDenali]

Keep the rule. It's a text book example of the failure of affirmative action and quota hiring policies. Keep it there to remind people of the fail.

 

[BigKen]

I was a manager for years and built a department of people to cover 13 states. The field was very select and there were few persons of color in it. There were women. In truth, I never had a person of color apply for any position I posted in the paper or online. I hired strictly on the 2 criteria. Did the person have the qualifications and background needed and did they fit with my team both socially and intelliectually.
I found in my experience, liking a person when they interview has a great influence on whether or not you hire them, regardless of race or sex.
The caveat in all of this is who the owner of any franchise would like to coach his team.It has to be someone he's very comfortable with, someone he can personally trust and someone who can do the job. If you've ever heard Mike Tomlin or Lovie Smith speak, they so grab your attention and lock you in, that you never for one second ever think about color.
What I think the NFL really needs is an owner of color......that will change things once and for all.

 

[darken65]

Keep the rule. It's a text book example of the failure of affirmative action and quota hiring policies. Keep it there to remind people of the fail.

Most understand that at least NFL teams are looking for the best coach. The RR and AA are similar in the way it attemps to give an advantage based on the color of a person's skin....pathetic IMO.I only see the person...not the color, every human has a color.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

It helps them get noticed? NFL GMs make millions of dollars, and they're evaluating players & coaches every single day if the year. All the time. Their staffs are evaluating players & coaches all year. Some token minority candidate they parade out there to satisfy a rule isn't all of a sudden getting "noticed" by a GM for a potential job. These executives have their lists of potential coaches they'd want before the current guy(s) even get(s) fired.

Yes...it did help them get noticed.

Race aside...just as in the corporate world. Two candidates, A & B...they both look good on paper/interview...A trusted friend in the trade, a fellow exec, even a golf buddy, etc. (somebody in the decision maker's trusted circle) knows B and gives a good word about him...a high % of the time candidate B will get hired.

Before the RR...in the NFL both candidates were almost always white. There were almost no minority DCs or OCs much less HC...why?...race could be part of the reason, but I believe not being having your name in those decision maker's circles creates sort of an out of sight, out of mind situation when it came to hiring a HC, a GM, etc.

Not perfect by any means, but RR did put minority candidates in the decision maker's circles...it was successful in that regard...do they still need it? I would like to think they don't.

 

[TBBishop]

Neither the Rooney Rule nor Affirmative Action gives black candidates an advantage and the biggest problem with either is the American public's ignorant understanding of it. No one is required by law to hire minorities. Some companies, private companies, take it upon themselves to have hiring quotas. That's their business. The NFL recognized a problem and took action to correct it. This private corporation felt there were not enough minorities getting an opporunity so they took it upon themselves to require a minority be interviewed. Not hired, interviewed. Again, that's their business. The fact that the public is starting to rumble tells me it will be at least another decade before it will actually no longer be necessary. AA laws have never forced anyone to hire a black person. People seem to think all of these over qualified white people are looking for jobs because companies have to hire these uneducated guetto dwellers. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who didn't get a job even though they were more qualified than the black person who got it. BULLSHIT!!! AA was put in place for the opposite. AA says that a company can't overlook the obviously more qualified black person for the obviously less qualified white person. So the black man with 2 masters in business isn't passed up for the banking job for the idiot husband of the niece of the manager. AA IS so the most qualified person gets the job. People SAY they want the most qualified person to get the job but bitch about the laws that help make it happen. FAIL!!! It's amazing how many of our laws people talk about and actually know shit about.

 

[NinerSickness]

Yes...it did help them get noticed.

Race aside...just as in the corporate world. Two candidates, A & B...they both look good on paper/interview...A trusted friend in the trade, a fellow exec, even a golf buddy, etc. (somebody in the decision maker's trusted circle) knows B and gives a good word about him...a high % of the time candidate B will get hired.

The NFL isn't the corporate world. These coaches are in the public eye all season long. Their performances are in the public eye all season long. NFL GMs have nothing to do all season but evaluate players & coaches. It's not like in the corporate world where they pick up a resume and they've never heard of the guy.

The Rooney rule doesn't help anyone get hired. And nor should it. It's a stupid, racist rule.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

The NFL isn't the corporate world. These coaches are in the public eye all season long. Their performances are in the public eye all season long. NFL GMs have nothing to do all season but evaluate players & coaches. It's not like in the corporate world where they pick up a resume and they've never heard of the guy.

The Rooney rule doesn't help anyone get hired. And nor should it. It's a stupid, racist rule.

LOL...ok...enough said.

I will say this from working 20 yrs in corp management..."never heard of the guy"...if it's an important position...trust me, they are going to know whatever they need to know about you before you're hired.

One point we agree on...RR should not get anyone hired.