I had an interesting discussion last night with a passionate NFL insider. His rub on USC Head Coach Pete Carroll being hired as the Seattle Seahawks head coach with full control is that it is racist to not enact the Rooney Rule and interview an African-American candidate.
From Wikipedia “The Rooney Rule, established in 2003,[1] requires National Football League teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities. The rule is named for Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the chairman of the league’s diversity committee, and indirectly the Rooney family in general, due to the Steelers’ long history of giving African Americans opportunities to serve in team leadership roles. It is often cited as an example of affirmative action.”
As an African American male and football head as well as former quarterback, you would think I agree, however, if I were coaching in the NFL I would not even want to be considered for the Seahawks coaching role just because they DID already hand him the job and rightfully so. Jim Mora Jr. did horrible and was ousted after one season. Pete Carroll has proven team building and team architecting skills. He’s a proven leader with an unmatched pedigree. If I were the owner, I would hand him the job too and not even consider anyone else.
The only thing I think is that there should always be a backup in case Coach Carroll doesn’t jump ship in which case you should enact the Rooney Rule and interview African American coaching candidates as well as all qualified candidates.
The NFL (Not For Long) is filled with the carcasses of coaches who tried and failed. I believe that we should be given the opportunity just like anyone else but make sure you are crazy ready to lead that type of bipolar up and down lifestyle where everyone and their mother is judging your every step.
