When the NFL season started, there were a total of eight minority head coaches among the 32 NFL teams. As the season progressed, and the off season cycle started, five of those minority coaches found themselves looking for new jobs.
With Patriots assistant Brian Flores set to take over the Dolphins after the Super Bowl, only one minority coach is being added, but the Fritz Pollard Alliance (who works closely with the league on its hiring practices and ensures the Rooney Rules is being followed) adds that every one of the eight jobs that opened this off season interviewed between two and four minority candidates for their head coaching opportunities.
According to the Washington Post, the Fritz Pollard Alliance, with chairman John Wooten leading the charge, is requesting that the NFL commit to "having each team add two minority coaches in low-level, quality control positions." - one position on offense, and the other on defense. The aim is to give opportunities for minority coaches to get into the NFL and gain valuable experience to help them move on to roles as assistant coaches, coordinators, and head coaches.
It's an effort to build a pipeline of sorts to help put minority coaches in the best possible position to land NFL head coaching jobs. The Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship program is great for a lot of guys, but it's not feeding the results the Alliance would like to see, as Wooten explains in the article.d
“It’s very obvious to us all that if you’re going to build a pipeline, you must follow the procedure that we’re outlining. I’m not talking about [coaching] internships. I’m talking about putting them in positions where they’re going to have opportunities to advance. This should be done because this is what the league is about. The league is about opportunity. We know the road that we must travel.”
Head over to the Washington Post article to read more.