There are plenty of critics of the Rooney Rule within the NFL, and most of that criticism is that the rule is toothless, and the interviews it forces upon teams are formalities that put both interviewer and interviewee in awkward situations.
According to Florida attorney general James Uthmeier, though, the Rooney Rule is so powerful it must be dismantled, an unfair burden illegally hoisted upon the backs of the majority.
Uthmeier on Thursday announced plans to force the NFL to halt enforcement of the Rooney Rule within Sunshine State borders, with the league's annual meetings set to begin in Phoenix next week.
"My office is sending a letter to the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, regarding the league's hiring practices -- specifically, the use of the league's so-called Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview candidates based on race," Uthmeier said. "The NFL's use of the Rooney Rule violates Florida law, by requiring race-based considerations in hiring. Florida law is clear: hiring decisions cannot be based on race, and the Rooney Rule mandates raced-based interviews and incentivizes race-based decisions. That's discrimination. We're demanding the NFL suspend the Rooney Rule, and failure to do so may result in enforcement actions against the league for race-based discrimination. NFL teams and their fans don't care about the race of their coaching staff, they want a merit-based system that gives their team the best chance to win."
Created in 2003, the Rooney Rule has since expanded its scope, requiring in-person interviews of at least two external minority candidates -- either racial or gender minorities -- for head coaching and general manager openings, at least two minorities interviewed for all coordinator openings, and at least one minority interview for all quarterback coaching and senior-level executive positions. To further incentivize the hiring of racial and gender minorities, teams are rewarded with draft picks if they have a minority hired away to a senior coaching or personnel position on another team.
For Florida's three NFL teams, this accounts to, at most, a couple dozen individual jobs, in a state of 23 million.
In a letter, Uthmeier gave the NFL until May 1 to confirm it will not apply the Rooney Rule to the Buccaneers, Dolphins, and Jaguars and that failure to do so "may result in a civil rights enforcement action.”
The Bucs have employed four Black head coaches since their 1976 founding, including current head coach Todd Bowles. The Dolphins have employed one Black full-time head coach, Brian Flores, who has been locked in a legal battle with the league for four years now. The Jaguars have yet to employ a Black head coach in 30 years of existence.