Former Super Bowl champion and current ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark criticized the New England Patriots for how they complied with the Rooney Rule during their head coaching search.
The NFL’s Rooney Rule, which was created by the NFL’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee in 2003, requires each team with a head coaching vacancy to interview at least two or more diverse candidates for the job. position. The rule was expanded in 2022 to include interviews for women as part of the “definition of a minority candidate.”
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Mike Vrabel of the Tennessee Titans on the field before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Nissan Stadium on December 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The Patriots hired Mike Vrabel as their next coach about a week after firing Jerod Mayo. The team interviewed Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich to comply with the Rooney Rule, all before the playoffs ended.
“I think this sheds light on the Rooney Rule, which, to me, the New England Patriots made a mockery of,” Clark said Thursday on “Inside the NFL.” “To interview Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich, two coaches who aren’t even in football at the moment, just to fulfill a quota.
“The Rooney Rule was put in place so that some of these minority coaches could have opportunities to get in front of some of the executives and some of these owners, who were really looking to give the job to the best person. Now, I want to be clear: I think that We’ve reached a point where organizations will hire the best person they think is for the job, but let’s not make coaches, who have worked their entire lives for this opportunity, be the token interview.
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November 4, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri: Announcer Ryan Clark before a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Images by Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn)
“I think a better solution is for teams that want to bypass the Rooney rule, as the New England Patriots probably would have done because they wanted Mike Vrabel, to allow them to hire someone at the lower level who reports directly to the head coach.” , informs. directly to the offensive coordinator, so they can get some of that tutelage to help them build their resumes and their careers.
“Let’s cut through the nonsense interviews just to say that we did what the Rooney Rule was supposed to do. When it was initially implemented, I think it worked. Now it has run its course and become something that is a joke to the NFL and “To the NFL coaches and, more importantly, to the people I was supposed to help.”
Vrabel has a long history with the Patriots, having won three Super Bowl titles with the team during his playing career.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel smiles as he poses with team owner Robert Kraft, right, during an availability Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
He began his coaching career with the Tennessee Titans in 2018. He went 54-45 with the Titans and led them to three playoff appearances, including an appearance in the AFC Championship.
