Since 2003, the NFL’s Rooney Rule has been in place to ensure that minority candidates receive consideration for coaching vacancies (later expanded to include certain front-office positions).
As Fox NFL insider Jordan Schultz sees it, many organizations, including the New England Patriots, aren’t following the rule as it was originally intended.
While only one team, the 2003 Detroit Lions, has ever been punished for failing to adhere to the Rooney Rule, many franchises have been accused of holding token interviews and side-stepping the intended process. Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores sued the NFL and several franchises over what he perceived as discriminatory practices and sham interviews and many other Black coaches either joined the lawsuit or shared similar stories.
The New England Patriots fired Jerod Mayo this past weekend following his one-and-only season as head coach. It has been long reported and rumored that the franchise wants to hire former assistant Mike Vrabel, who is white, as his replacement. On Tuesday, it was reported that New England would interview Black coaching candidates Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton. Some saw the timing of those interviews as proof that they were being done as a formality so that the franchise could hire Vrabel without running afoul of the Rooney Rule.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz alluded to exactly this on Tuesday, accusing the organization of hosting the two coaches for interviews with any intention of actually hiring them for the head coaching vacancy.
“The NFL’s Rooney Rule has been around for years, but watching teams blatantly sidestep its intent never stops being frustrating,” wrote Schultz on X. “The Patriots checked the box by interviewing Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton. High quality coaches, but clearly not the front-runners for the job. Everyone knows it. Now, with that formality out of the way, they’re free to move forward and hire Mike Vrabel as soon as Thursday. At least pretend it’s more than a technicality. This isn’t just about compliance, it’s about respect. To the candidates. To the process. To the league itself. It shouldn’t be this way.”
The NFL’s Rooney Rule has been around for years, but watching teams blatantly sidestep its intent never stops being frustrating. The #Patriots checked the box by interviewing Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton — high quality coaches, but clearly not the front-runners for the job.… https://t.co/uo1D4CkCs0 pic.twitter.com/tqMks6Zqhu
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 7, 2025
Only those inside the Patriots organization know what their true intentions are with interviewing Leftwich and Hamilton, the latter of which hasn’t coached since 2022.
It is interesting to see an NFL insider so openly critique an organization’s hiring process. There is a pretty stark difference between Schultz’s report and how NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport presented it, presuming that the interviews were legitimate and highlighting the Patriots’ “prowess with the QB position” over the years as to why they might want to hire either coach.
With a long history in the league and plenty of prowess with the QB position, this makes a ton of sense. https://t.co/TnvMbyVHmY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2025
Perhaps the Patriots do have interest in Hamilton or Leftwich as their next head coach. But Jordan Schultz sure isn’t buying it. And when you consider the long list of minority coaches who never received a chance at being an NFL head coach over the years (or ones like Mayo who lost that shot quickly), it’s not hard to blame him for his stance.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.