The Rooney Rule is a joke

More Peter King:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/peter_king/news/2003/02/10/mmqb/

On Detroit hiring Marriucci:

"What Millen should have done is call the league to discuss his predicament, and say, Tell me exactly what I should do. That's what Jerry Jones did in Dallas before hiring Bill Parcells, and the league okayed him giving Dennis Green a one-hour phone interview.

Now, there are going to be some heavy slaps on the wrist as the NFL enters into this period of forcing teams to do the right affirmative-action thing and interview at least one black candidate per job opening. It should be that way. This is the right thing."

And:

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/37310/

 

Good call on Brian Leonard, he was listed third on the depth chart, in front of Larry Johnson heading into yesterday.

 

where are all the black field goal kickers? How come no one ever complains about that?

 

Part of that, I would think, would be because a lot of kickers and punters used to come from soccer (i.e. white, middle class, suburban) backgrounds.

That's a position, in itself, that is changing in terms of athletic ability and background. The age of the little 5-10, 180-pound kicker who played soccer is going away. They are being replaced by guys who are 6-3, 220-pounds, who played several other positions on their HS football team, discovered they were good at kicking footballs, and went to multiple camps to learn to be a kicker.

I can see more African-Americans learning the art of kicking, and getting on NFL rosters.

 

Donald Igwebuike and his coke habit wonders what you're talking aboot.

 

Given that Tomlin actually won a Super Bowl, it's hard to argue that job should have gone to Whisenhunt or Grimm (who's still not a head coach anywhere but the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review offices). And I don't think the Steelers simply viewed Tomlin as a charity chase to make the Rooney Rule look legit. That franchise has had three head coaches since 1969 (Noll, Cowher, Tomlin) when teams like the Redskins have gone through seven in the past decade. When the Steelers hire a head coach, they want to make sure it's for the long haul.

 

Raheem Morris in Tampa is a good coach with not much talent to work with. Over the years, many minority coaches, like the President of the United States, is given an opportunity to get in the big chair only after everyone before him has fucked everything up beyond recognition.
He's then expected to turn chicken shit into chicken salad in a very short period of time. If he does, he's fantastic. If he doesn't, he's a bust.
Tomlin was put in a winnable situation. This year, you saw how he dealt with adversity and he did pretty well.
Would be great if other minority coaches were put in the same situation to begin their head coaching careers but that's asking a lot from the No Fun League.

 

Raheem Morris is a good coach? Based on what?

The Rooney Rule got Marvin Lewis his job in Cincy and for better or worse, he's kept that job longer than most NFL coaches keep theirs.

 

WTF?
As for Morris, those who have been around him say that he's not a bad coach. No, he's not ready for COY honors, but he knows the game.
As for Lewis, you have to admit that he caught a break.

 

Saying Whisenhunt or Grimm should've gotten the job, because they were there, basically, is EXACTLY why the Rooney Rule was created. It's to combat the old boy's network of coaching hires, fair or unfair as that may look to those passed over.

Whisenhunt took himself out of the running because Arizona opened up before Pittsburgh was ready to make a decision, and was probably pissed they just didn't hire him immediately (scoffing at the Rule). Grimm, while he's probably a good coach, hasn't exactly wowed people in interviews (not that impressing stuffed shirts is always proof positive). Remember Chicago with his Cosby sweater for the interview and calling the Bears owners the "McClaskeys"?

 

You also have to say that the Rooneys and the Steelers practiced what they preached (Rooney Rule) when they interviewed and eventually hired Tomlin.