The Rooney Rule has been the centerpiece of the NFL’s initiative to expand opportunities for minority coaches and front office executives for greater than 20 years. Now, it’s under attack.
Florida attorney general James Uthmeier called on the NFL to suspend the Rooney Rule in a social media post and a letter sent to commissioner Roger Goodell this week. Uthmeier characterised the policy as “blatant race and sex discrimination” and threatened legal motion if the league doesn’t comply by May 1.
The NFL acknowledged receipt of the letter and responded with a press release from executive vice chairman Jeff Miller (via ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler): “We consider our policies are consistent with the law and reflect our commitment to fairness, opportunity, and constructing the strongest possible teams.”
The Rooney Rule, named for late Steelers owner and then-chair of the league’s Workplace Diversity Committee, was instituted in 2002. Tony Dungy and Dennis Green, two of the league’s three minority coaches, had just been fired – Dungy after a winning season and Green after his first losing season in a decade. The unique rule required teams to interview one ethnic-minority candidate for head coaching vacancies. It has since expanded in plenty of ways to cover other positions and include women within the definition of minority candidate.
Teams are actually required to in-person interviews with two minority candidates for head coaching, general manager, and first football executive positions. Two candidates are also required for coordinator jobs, though they might be conducted virtually. One minority candidate have to be interviewed for quarterback coach openings, because the position has turn out to be a well-liked pipeline for future head coaches.
The league also introduced a system to reward teams who developed minority talent. If a minority coach or executive leaves for head coaching or general manager jobs with one other team, the unique club will third-round compensatory picks in future drafts.
The outcomes are undeniable. Seven teams hired a complete of seven minority coaches from the beginning of the NFL’s modern era in 1970 to the institution of the rule in 2002. The Colts hired Dungy as their head coach that offseason and the Bengals hired Marvin Lewis the 12 months after. Green returned to a top job with the Cardinals in 2004, and by 2005, there have been six minority head coaches within the league. Previously, there have been never greater than three at a time; since then, there haven’t been fewer than 4.
The NFL has clearly achieved their goal of expanding coaching and front office opportunities for minorities, however the Rooney Rule continues to be not perfect. Brian Flores’ lawsuit brought the problem of sham interviews – conducted only to satisfy league requirements versus legitimate consideration to be hired – into the highlight, and the 2026 hiring cycle represented significant regression for minority candidates. Despite 10 openings, tied for probably the most in league history, Robert Saleh was the one minority to get a head coaching job.
Now, the rule is in peril, not less than in Florida. The NFL is reviewing Uthmeier’s letter, which was also sent to the league’s three teams inside his jurisdiction: the Buccaneers, Dolphins, and Jaguars. But other states could follow suit, especially those with leadership from the Republican Party, which has been leading nationwide efforts to finish diversity-based hiring policies.
Art Rooney – who succeeded his father in Pittsburgh and because the chair of the the NFL’s renamed DEI Committee – said (via Kahler) that the league has “an obligation to be certain that that our policies comply with the laws.”
“That’s just the environment we’re existing in today,” he added.