Reading through the threads this morning about the Dolphins' effort to land the latest flavor of the month, Jim Harbaugh, often I saw references to the Rooney Rule.
Now, while I am ALL for equal opportunity for all, mandating a team MUST interview a black candidate for a head coaching position, to give blacks an "opportunity" to be a head coach is utter madness, and why?
A head coach and his coaching staff during training camp...they evaluate talent during camp. Scribbling on clipboards...stopwatches a ticking...blocking drills...tackling drills...the coaching staff isn't looking at the color of the skin of these players. They're looking at who gives their team the ABSOLUTE BEST CHANCE to win.
Shouldn't a football team's owner be doing the exact same thing when evaluating available coaches? Looking at the available candidates, regardless of skiin color, evaluating who he feels gives his team the ABSOLUTE BEST CHANCE to win?
Besides, the Rooney Rule in my humble opinon is symbolically stupid as it doesn't MANDATE the hiring of minority head coaches. I can only imagine how someone like Ray Rhodes or any other non contender minority interviewee would feel when approached by a team for a head coaching interview..."Oh great, I'm the token black candidate who this team doesn't really want, but they have to interview someone...thanks for nothing"
Just expressing frustration over what I perceive as true stupidity. :pity:
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Mike Tomlin said the rooney rule is one of the reasons (main reason) he was hired in pitt, because whoever was making the decisions at pitt, was sitting in on one of his "stupid, pointless" rooney-rule interviews years prior, and was impressed with what he saw.
These coaches take it serious, and they go through the process as if they have a legit shot to get the job. You never know what next hot-shot gm is just a assistant at the time, who will remember your interview and when they needing a HC they call them up.
I agree the actual basis is done incorrectly. It seems they went from giving minorities a shot to, parading one random black guy in the room to satisfy the rule. But it is a little more than that. It just looks bad from the outside looking in.Frumundah Finnatic, RickyBobby and Fin D like this. -
It's a pain in the ***, but I don't have a problem with it. If an organization prepares correctly, it shouldn't hinder their ability to hire the right guy for the job.
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I think the reason Tomlin was hired at Pitt was because they were familiar with him and he had been groomed for the job .
The Rooney rule is in place because of incidents that occured in the past.Society in the NFL has got to a point where people are now hired for their qualifications and not what color they happen to be.
If all of society was like that they wouldn't need such a rule. -
Per a source, it seems likely with Bowles wrapped up in Dallas that we will interview Hue Jackson. Only time will tell.
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Dam iPhone autocorrect... -
And.....as Ethan Skolnick recalled last night....because a former Dolphins exec felt Tomlin was too 'hip hop'.
Today's NFL players don't respond to that. Cam Cameron was just what we needed.
Seriously, said former exec advised Tomlin was too hip hop and Ethan says that's why we passed. I cannot imagine Tomlin interviewed for the biggest job of his life quoting Pac and Biggie. I can't imagine he wore his pants below his *** and needed a Barbara Billingsley ("Oh stewardess? I speak jive.") to communicate with Huizenga. From what I recall, reports were that he was impressive.
The rule can be a pain in the ***, I agree. Ideally it doesn't exist and everything is on a level playing field. But this is why it still exists.Frumundah Finnatic and gafinfan like this. -
SICK, Frumundah Finnatic and jetssuck like this.
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The Roony Rule is crap. It's his team, his business and he should be able to hire whomever he wants.
Do people really believe that a guy who spends 1.1 BILLION on a business and then pays 100's of MILLIONS to his employee's, most of whom are minorities, is not going to hire someone because they are black? They are going to hire the best available to make their business money. White, black, green, blue or yellow.
And even if there were a person stupid enough to hire a head coach based on something as dumb as skin color they wouldn't last long because they would be missing out on some great talent. Themole and Coral Reefer like this. -
Frumundah Finnatic likes this.
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Da 'Fins Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member
From what I have read it is the central reason Tomlin got the job - he blew them away in the interview.
I do think there are times it makes no sense - right now there are no minority coaches who have the pedigree of success, nor the demand, of a Harbaugh. Part of that is the problems in the college ranks and minority coaches (which is far worse %-wise than it is in the NFL).
I think minority coaches should get more shots at this level and I think Ross is wrong to not interview others; but, at the same time I fully understand why they flew out to see Harbaugh.
It's just a tough situation. But, you can't throw out the Rooney rule altogether. -
So before the Vikings promote Leslie Frazier from interim HC to just HC, do they have to interview a white boy? :wink2:
Coral Reefer, gafinfan, xer0 and 1 other person like this. -
I think the rule should be changed that they have to interview 5 candidates, with three of them people who never had head coaching experience.
Getting an interview for a head coaching position is very invaluable. There have been a few coaches who have gotten the job because of the Rooney rule who probably would have never gotten a shot. Not so much due to color, mostly due to the fact it is a very hard interview to get. -
I do agree the rule is stupid however, only because if a team wants to hire a coach who happens to he white, they're gonna hire him. Interviewing a black one is only so they can comply with the rule. -
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Mike Tomlin is a frat brother of mine and I met him at a conference in DC. He's anything but Hip Hop. He was pretty professional even in a social setting. He is a younger coach so I can see where an older more conservative man might think him as being "hip hop." However, I don't think his youth should be mistaken for immaturity. If anything I think his youthfulness would appeal to players who are young themselves.
I think the Rooney rule serves a purpose. It eliminates blatent cronyism. While a team may still choose who they wanted all along, it gets minority coaching names out there. Even if the coach is passed up for the HC job, he might be a good fit for a coordinator/asst HC position in an organization. It doesn't cost a significant amount of money and if one coach benefits from it, its well worth it. I just don't see the gripes over a rule that really doesn't make that much of a difference either way. All it can really do is help. -
The rule is not stupid, it addresses a real problem, one that most people like to pretend does not exist. And its only stupid if ownership and management decide to make it little more than a formality. If they do that they are failing in their responsibility to do their due diligence in finding the best possible head coach.GARDENHEAD likes this. -
You need the rule and as long as the coaches who are interviewing don't mind going through the process who cares. I think for some it's an opportunity to get experience interviewing for a head coaching position elsewhere, and as someone else stated it worked out for Tomlin great. Too bad we can't trade some draft picks to Pittsburgh and get him to be our Head Coach =/
gafinfan likes this. -
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I dislike and can never support the Rooney rule. It treats blacks like a special race of people who can't even get in the door by the merits of their work. What should happen is that a more open staff and FO gets the chance to hire the black coaches who work while the other organizations have to suffer losing with their Good Old Boy network of Cam Carmeron's and Dan Henning's. There's not excuse for affirmative action in a civilized and equal society. It's an indefensible practice that in and of itself states that minorities, on the backs of their accomplishments, cannot succeed without help. It just sets back racial progress a hell of a lot of years. In the end, it just looks like the successful looking down on the minorities and pitying them so much that emotion comes before reason and merit.
Again, if you didn't want to hire Mike Tomlin because he was "too hip-hop" you should be made to suffer because of another more sensible team stealing him away. If the only reason you give me a shot is because you had to, I don't want that shot.
[/PoFo]charlestonphan and bran like this. -
The Rooney Rule does not just apply to black coaches. It applies to minority coaches overall, it's just that blacks are the most common minority in the NFL. People can interview Ron Rivera, Norm Chow, etc. for the Rooney Rule. It's a good rule because even if the FO is hellbent on not hiring a minority, and the minority absolutely kills it in the interview, the FO could always forward that information to other FOs in search of a new coach.
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it is what it is
another unnecessary hurdle in the field of competition
why not apply the same rule to QB's
or create a rule for the mandatory interviewing of white RB's?
why not institute a Demographic Racial Proportionality Rule
in all sports concerning the hiring of races @ the professional level?
seems to me we have disproportionate numbers
of minorities represented in both football & basketball
the Rooney Imposition is simply inappropriate in 2011
is there a reverse racism @ work in professional sports today
or do we simply play the best @ every position?
think about it -
And it may be a civilized and equal society but you can't just pretend the past hasn't happened. All the ronney rule does is counter the past somewhat by adding a larger mix of minorities to the coaching candidate pool.GARDENHEAD likes this. -
FellowMember Phyil:
really? are you sure? sounds to me like a racists statement, a justification for the right hand that doesn't apply to the left. what would your reaction be if I posted your response with a twist: Because coaching talent has been a meritocracy for the last 40 years.... think about it. Maybe we should legislate the number of minorities that have to buy tickets @ sporting events to maintain a franchise? would that work for you?
Competition (not imposition) is the Elixir of Success!:yes:MarinePhinFan likes this. -
You know what I find funny? Think about it, how come it's only the glamour positions that people are concerned don't have enough minorities?
Quarterback, Coach....how come you never hear anyone complaining that there aren't enough minority placekickers? :wink2:bran likes this. -
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this is 2011 not 1911
we have a black president & first family
that was elected by the majority of the American people
he couldn't have been elected without the white vote
what does that tell you?
we're supposed to have entered the post racial era
the BigRooney is a twentieth century phenomenon
it is an unnecessary burden & carry-over we can do without
it is as insulting & demeaning as it is inappropriate.
it is a dinosaur & should not be a part of things moving forward
Competition (not imposition) is the Elixir of Success!:yes:
my colors are aqua & orange :marble: think about itMarinePhinFan likes this. -
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MarinePhinFan likes this. -
First of all its not you have to interview a BLACK candidate to give BLACK coaches an equal opportunity. Despite how some believe, racism, but mostly prejudices still exist.
This rule is great for many reasons many because of how it gets these MINORITY coaches names out there for future opportunities. Some of these coaches that have been seriously interviewed probably wouldn't have gotten a thought for the job had their name not been brought up else where.
Good rule. -
Posts like this are hilarious because when someone says anything like rooney rule or AA or things like that they scream "that was over 200 years ago!!!"
Seriously?? That's so unbelievablely ignorant there's no response even needed -
it is a horrible rule, minorities are well represented in the NFL, all races are there if a team doesnt hire a HC because he is black or asian or any other race then they deserve to lose
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From ESPN now: Dolphins CAN'T hire Harbaugh due to ROONEY RULE
I just heard this on ESPN TV. That damn stupid Rooney Rule will prevent us from throwing a ton of cash at Harbaugh. On a guess - I don't see this happening. There is too much against us. I don't see Harbuagh waiting around for us to interview a black coach. I see him going to SF ( my opinion) -
The Rooney rule won't do anything to stop us from hiring Harbaugh.
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We can hire whoever we want...
We just have to pay the piper if we dance.
Some great plan by Ross huh? Now he looks like an a$$
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