So far in 2020, we’ve seen the New York Giants hire Joe Judge as their head coach, Mike McCarthy hired for the Cowboys, Matt Rhule for the Panthers, and Ron Rivera for the Redskins. If you can’t tell, that is just one minority head coach being hired and not a single Black one, which leaves just three total around the league.
Of course, this goes against the “Rooney Rule” which demands teams interview a diverse range of candidates in order to be fair. Teams are just skating around the rule by getting that interview out of the way, only to hire who they actually want afterwards.
The Giants hire of Joe Judge was the hire that sent the most shock waves and could possibly have long lasting effects for minority candidates in the NFL.
According to Robert Klemko of the Washington Post, this move could be the final straw for African-American assistant coaches who might end up taking their talents to the college ranks.
Less than 10% of head-coaching positions are being held by African-Americans in a sport where it is dominated by African-Americans players.
The NFL’s Rooney Rule is a complete and utter failure.
