NFL owners have tabled a proposal that would have provided incentives for teams to hire minority general managers and coaches by improving team’s draft choice positioning, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The news was first reported by NFL Network.
The virtual meeting among the NFL’s 32 owners is still ongoing.
The proposal would have improved draft pick selections in the third round for teams that hired minority candidates as head coaches or general managers. Teams also could have received compensatory picks if minority candidates remain as a head coach or GM into their third year or if a team lost a minority candidate who became a head coach or GM with another team. There were also possible draft pick incentives for hiring a minority coach as a coordinator or quarterbacks coach.
The NFL will officially amend the Rooney Rule to require more interviews of minority candidates for head-coaching and coordinator positions, a source told ESPN, confirming an NFL Network report.
Reacting to a lack of diversity progress in hiring for those jobs, the league will require teams to interview at least two minority candidates from outside the organization for head-coaching openings. At least one minority candidate must be interviewed for a coordinator spot.
Those changes are being discussed at Tuesday’s virtual meeting.