PFT on Huizenga, Parcells and the Rooney Rule

So its better to pretend to care about hiring minorities than to acknowledge that after decades in football that Parcells has a circle of people that he wants to bring on board? Does the Rooney rule have any tangible benefits other than pretending to level the playing field?

 

The rooney rule is a bunch of crap. Hire the BEST available coach regardless of whether the coach is black, white, green or purple...The best coach should get the job

 

That Rooney rule is BS.

 

I agree completely. The best coach should always be hired. Why should you get a intervew just because the color of your skin.

 

Wow...the Rooney rule is about giving every potentially qualified coach a chance to interview for the HC spot, thats all. Its not a rule saying who you have to hire, simply, who you need to at least interview. Really nothing to blow out of proportion and claim its crap!

Therefore, the BEST coach will get the job as long as you interview qualified candidates whether they are black, white, green or purple.

 

exactly, but say for instance one coach is better than the other, and you already know youre hiring that coach, you HAVE to waste time and money (for the interviewer and viewee) and give false sense of hope to the candidate...its a waste of time and complete BS

 

The NFL obviously disagrees with your view. Its not a waste of time in their mind to give all qualified coaches and, yes, minorities, in particular, an opportunity to be interviewed.

In theory, a large part of that goal is the practice with interviewing skills so they can someday match and equal the onfield coaching skills. The "forced" interviews as you view them do provide an environment for these otherwise overlooked candidates to be interviewed and learn how to express and convey the Football knowledge they have.

Again, its overboard to say the rule is crap or the execution of the rule is illogical. Its completely logical for a league to provide opportunities for their members to learn and improve on the field and off when in the interview seat. Thats all.

 

well in that sense I will not disagree with you. The part I disagree with is if the owner already knows who he wants, thats that, he isnt going t o change his mind because he is forced to interview anyone. If a candidate is not qualified for the position, why should an owner be obligated to interview that person...

 

Actually, giving an inexperienced coach the exposure of an interview can't be understated. It also gives the rest of the NFL some information on how a candidate presents himself. The head coaching job isn't about X's and O's, it's about running part of an organization, being a leader of a group of men.

Also, from what I can see, the more interviews they have, the more chance they'll get hired sometime in the future. It's about equal opportunity, and getting some experience so that anyone and everyone can compete with those who already have the experience.

 

All owners that voted and passed the Rooney rule have always held this belief, and frankly, there is nothing wrong with it. Owners do know who is at the top of their list, and at the same time, sometimes that list is small and overused so to speak. Same ol same ol = old boys network, etc. That was the view Rooney held.

Again, they passed it as a way to guarantee that up and coming coordinators, especially minorities, would not be blocked from at minimum interviewing. Yes, its applied to all minorities whether they had previous HC experience (i.e. Art Shell, etc) or not, but its intent was for young coordinators to learn how to interview and get that experience....perhaps it is best viewed as a chance to find a diamond in the rough, or a pearl from an oyster by giving them a chance to at minimum interview. No harm, no foul in that.

Plus its possible that one owner, will/can always talk amongst themselves regarding who they interviewed and who impressed them, etc even if they have a closed mind on who they really wanted.

 

you should be able to hire whomever you want afterall it is "your " business

 

well in that sense i agree... good point!

 

The Rooney rule is one of those things that was needed years ago, but with Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith going to the Super Bowl last year, owners see that minority coaches can win.

 

Exactly, as I have stated, we all know this ourselves; if you never get the chance to interview (formal or informal) you never get a chance to be offered a job, which is necessary to give you the power to accept or decline it.

The ability to work on those interview skills is #1, and #2 perhaps is the chance to change someones mind on what the "talent pool" really is for a HC position (or Front office, etc) as far as the Rooney Rule goes.

Bottomline the rule doesnt and should not guarantee anyone other that the most qualified individual from being offered the job.

 

Looking at minority candidates should be encouraged, but when it turns into an interview just for show, then what is the point?

 

Sure, and the Rooney Rule has nothing to do with changing that mindset.

 

Come on, all interviews are for Show!!!! Meaning the interview doesnt prove if you really can or cant do the job...only the job does that...the interview is a show about whether you can express successfully your belief that you can do the job....but dont confuse the two.

The point is giving everyone that is qualified a chance to be interviewed which is not for show...its what it takes to get better and improve.

 

Rooney rule needs to be abolished. You can't fix coach discrimination WITH discrimination. You fix it by BEING A GOOD COACH.

 

glad someone with some brains spoke up

the rule shouldn't be abolished, but it definitely is being circumvented

in the long run the best coaches will start rising to the top and anything that can be done should be

 

What???? Where is there discrimination within the implementation of the Rooney Rule???? Giving more and more people the opportunity to interview isnt discrimination. You are not turning anyone that is qualified away, or preventing anyone from interviewing. How is that discrimination?

 

If you are a GM or owner you should be able to interview anyone you want, and you also should not be pressured to interview a guy just because of the color of his skin......there are great black head coaches like Dungy, and there are some who are horrible....just like with white coaches. It should come down to your ability and not your skin color. How would you feel going to an interview realizing you were only there because of your skin color and the need to fulfill a quote (which is what the Rooney Rule is).

 

However, the NFL noticed a long held tradition that potentially qualified candidates were not getting their fair share of interview opportunities often strickly based on non-football issues (including sadly the color of their skin). Rooney pushed for it because of this. Its a good rule because of this...these were facts.

The rule exists and facts show that because of it guys like Dungy and Smith were finally given a chance.

Now if you want to prove that it is no longer necessary with the success stories of HCs like Dungy and Smith fine, but the rule served a purpose and until its proven to no longer be necessary I dont think anyone should call it crap or a bad rule, etc. Its still a good rule, the only question that has the only merit to discuss is whether it is still necessary. Until its removed as a rule, I would wager to say the NFL still sees it as necessary.

 

Please.

It's just one more step to apply pressure to hire minority candidates for the sole purpose of increasing numbers.

It dosen't take anything into consideration but propoganda.
These teams will hire who they think is best regardless of color and they don't need "equality groups" to "hold anyone's feet to the fire" for that to happen.

 

When you say Please I say Thank You!

The only pressure it applies quite apparantly the league agreed with....INTERVIEW all qualified candidates.

 

I don't think the rule says anything about who teams can/cannot hire. It only says who they should INTERVIEW

I think you guys are underestimating what just an interview can do for some coaches. Would anyone ever mention Mike Singletary if he never got interviewed???

 

It's discrimination because it forces you to interview minorities. That's discriminating against non-minorites with similar qualifications. There's no rule for you to interview non-minorites, that's discrimination. See?

You cannot interview everyone in the free world, so minorities get to the front of the line ahead of non-minorities. That's not right.

 

The problem with that is, if the owner is looking to hire a particular coach, no other candidate is qualified to interview. So if the owner interviews the one coach he wants to hire, and then does decide to hire him, there should be no reason to interview anyone else.

Owner: Is your name Bill Parcells?
Candidate 1: Nope.
Owner: Sorry, you're not qualified... Next! Is your name Bill Parcells?
Candidate 2: No, it isn't...
Owner: Next! Is your name Bill Parcells?
Bill Parcells: Yes.
Owner: You're hired...

A little tongue-in-cheek, but it doesn't change the fact that if the owner wants to hire Dennis Green, or any other particular coach, he's going to.

 

That's funny. Ahhhh, no that is not discrimination. Having to INTERVIEW a minority that is qualified, in no way shape or form precludes or prevents you from INTERVIEWING a non-minority that is qualified.

The rule also doesnt state you have to INTERVIEW EVERY MINORITY. It only states that if an opening exists you should include at minimum 1 MINORITY that is qualified for the INTERVIEW PROCESS.

 

Again, The Rooney Rule has nothing to do with who you hire, or preventing you from hiring who you want to. It simply is about INTERVIEWING.

And I am sure if you are an owner and want to state that only so-and-so person is who you want to interview, the league will simply ask you to defend why this individual is the ONLY qualified candidate, and especially why ZERO minority candidates are not qualified. If you can defend and justify that, and convice the league than more power to you. But again the league is in favor of giving all qualified candidates a chance to INTERVIEW and a chance to improve their interviewing skills.

 

That exactly sums up the point of the Rooney Rule

The owner obviously had someone in mind before the hiring process. Correct?

Well how did that owner decide on that person? Because that person was exposed. And interviews provide a lot of exposure.

 

Like I said in my previous post, you can't realistically interview everyone so you have to pick and choose. Guess who gets priority? The minority. You're saying that's not discrimination? (don't answer this, neither of us are changing anyone's mind)

 

That's the thing though. An owner, with proper research, can make it so that the only person qualified for the position is the person he wants. That's the way it is in business.

The problem with the Rooney Rule is that it can be used to discriminate. Not that it would be, but using the Rooney Rule if the owner wants to hire Dennis Green or Mike Singletary, after that one interview with a minority coach, no other interviews need to be done.

So, I can see that it can be construed as discrimination against non-minorities. It's very unlikely that it will ever be used that way, but the fact that it can be is enough to chafe on some people's nerves...

 

Clearly, making sure an owner includes a qualified minority candidate in the interview process IS NOT discrimination.

 

rooney rule is stupid, if i was a black coach and knew that i was only being given an interview because they have to because of the color of my skin, i would be severely offended.

it almost promotes racism, like affirmitive action

 

In this context, by the definition alone, there is no such thing as DISCRIMINATION against the non-minorities. They are the MAJORITY for a reason.

The Rooney Rule is there to INCREASE Minority INTERVIEWS. So interviewing and hiring a Dennis Green, Mike Singletary, Tony Dungy as the only candidate(s) accomplishes that and gives that owner exactly what he wants and is complicit with the rule. Yes, if an owner wanted to only HIRE a non-minority, then go for it with one rule in mind, INTERVIEW a minority candidate that is qualified to help give that MINORITY an opportunity (at minimum improve their interview skills) that didnt exist quite often prior to the rule's existence.

P.S. Those "some people" are not the sharpest tool in the shed then.

 

Are you? Cause if you arent, then you really cant say can how a minority coach would, should, or could respond to this opportunity presented them.

 

Man, you are really fired up about this. Tell us how you really feel.

 

are you?