The NFL owners will vote on a proposed resolution next week that would move teams up in the NFL draft if they hire a person of color as either their coach or general manager, sources indicated to the NFL’s Jim Trotter.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed concern at the dwindling number of minorities in prominent positions during an address at the Super Bowl a few months ago.
“Clearly we are not where we want to be on this level,” Goodell said. “It’s clear we need to change. We have already begun discussing those changes, what stages we can take next to determine better outcomes.”
Despite the concern, only one of the five coaching vacancies that has been filled since then have gone to a person of color, which has extended the streak to just three of the last 20.
Here’s a quick look at how the resolutions are worded, which would also include removing the anti-tampering barrier that allows teams to block assistant coaches from interviewing for coordinator positions with other clubs.
- If a team hires a minority head coach, that team, in the draft preceding the coach’s second season, would move up six spots from where it is slotted to pick in the third round. A team would jump 10 spots under the same scenario for hiring a person of color as its primary football executive, a position more commonly known as general manager.
- If a team were to fill both positions with diverse candidates in the same year, that club could jump 16 spots — six for the coach, 10 for the GM — and potentially move from the top of the third round to the middle of the second round. Another incentive: a team’s fourth-round pick would climb five spots in the draft preceding the coach’s or GM’s third year if he is still with the team. That is considered significant because Steve Wilks and Vance Joseph, two of the four African-American head coaches hired since 2017, were fired after one and two seasons, respectively.
While there’s no doubt the league needs to do something to help minority coaches and executives get a fair opportunity for jobs, this is an extremely radical proposal and one that seems unlikely to be approved.
It’s a positive step, however, and one that should lead to increased negotiations as the league looks to fix the issue at hand as soon as possible.
