thependulumswings

Timing, they say, is everything.   The NFL wishes the enemy that we cannot see would go away as all of the rest of civilization does.  But, if it had to happen, could it have happened at a better time in a year for the league?

Shortly after the regular season was capped by Pat Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in early February, the pandemic began.  As pitchers and catchers got going in MLB, and while the NHL and the NBA were in the middle of their regular season everything stopped.  You know how it has played out, or should we say how it has not played out.

The NFL was busy with its offseason as interest in all of its doings year around is a great marketing success story that for the other leagues is but a field of dreams.

The NFL Draft, broadcast from 32 basements without a glitch, was a runaway record breaker for viewership in late April.  The new schedule was turned into a three hour TV reveal. And now, best of all, the league is quite hopeful of being able to start and play that falls schedule on time.  Timing, they still say, is everything.

So, last Friday NFL.com leaked out some info on the league wanting to incentivize teams to hire black head coaches and GM’s. According to the release, several new proposals were under consideration.  Simply stated all involve draft pick position.   If a team hires a black head coach they move up six spots in the third round in the next year’s draft.  Hire a black GM and move up ten more.  Hire a black QB coach and get an extra end of the fourth round compensatory pick.  Keep the GM or the head coach around for three years and move up five spots in the fourth round as well.

The league cites the facts that 1) only 3 of the 32 head coaching positions are filled by blacks, and 2) only one of five openings this year was filled by one, and 3) two recently hired Steve Wilks and Vance Joseph were fired after one and two years respectively.

If any of the measures were adopted it would have been the first addressing hiring in any way since the Rooney Rule was adopted in 2003 whereby owners must interview at least one minority candidate for consideration.  The now-deceased Art Rooney, a very respected and now deceased Pittsburgh Steeler team owner and rules committee leader, is who, why, and how the name of the rule came about.

We wonder what Mr. Rooney would have thought of these proposals.  We wonder what the current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin thinks of them.  Tony Dungy coached many years in the league, is a very well thought out and even voice, and a studio analyst for NBC Sunday Night Football.  He came out against them.

Tomlin enters his fourteenth year as head coach, has won 64% of his games, a Super Bowl, and has 208 victories in all.

Here are a few thoughts that we wonder about as we wonder what Tomlin thinks, or thought, about it.

Doesn’t each team hire the “best” coach for their team’s needs each time there is an opportunity?  If they don’t, is the league accusing its own owners of being prejudiced?

We are going to strongly assume that Wilks and Joseph “earned” their way in and “earned” their way out.  A bad hire is a bad hire.  Regardless of color, they aren’t the first to be shown the exit door in short order.

Are any of the above-detailed incentives really that much of an incentive?  Dare we say that it’s tokenism?  No one is going to hire someone to move up six spots in round three.  Teams trade draft picks and move around the board like the board game “Chutes and Ladders.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last year that there is no reason why half of his leagues’ coaches shouldn’t be women.  Should the NFL incentivize hiring women, too?  How about Hispanics?   If you’re going to emphasize minorities, why be selective?

Are you reading this saying to yourself “it’s because there are so many black players, you BBR staff writer dumbass?”  If so, what does that have to do with it?  Should the league incentivize teams to draft more white players?  Of course not.   Hiring the best for every employable position on every team from water boy to team president is always a good idea, isn’t it?

We viewed the possible plans as an embarrassment to the league.  It took 17 years to go from the well-intentioned but often criticized Rooney Rule to this.

We are happy to report that yesterday the proposition was widely criticized and voted down by the league owners.   Now the Rooney Rule has been expanded to ensure two minority candidates are interviewed.  Maybe that’s some type of progress.  Or not.  In 17 years maybe it will be expanded to “must interview three.”

How many extra picks should the Steelers get for having Tomlin so successfully coach for fourteen years?  We bet Tomlin would say “none.”

Let the best man win off of the field as they do on the field.