NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met virtually with Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders to discuss the Rooney Rule in the wake of Brian Flores' bombshell lawsuit against the NFL and its teams, which makes a number of allegations about racism in the hiring process around the league.

In the meeting, Sharpton called for the replacement of the Rooney Rule, which hasn't worked as hoped. The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations jobs.

Here's Sharpton's statement, via CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones:

“The Rooney Rule has been proven to be something the owners used to deceptively appear to be seeking real diversity. We must have firm targets and timetables.”

The NFL also put out a statement after the meeting:

“We had a productive and thoughtful conversation as the NFL shares the goal of ensuring that everyone has equitable access to opportunity. We look forward to continuing the dialogue.”

The NFL had nine openings for head coach this cycle, and two of the jobs went to minority candidates. The Miami Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel to replace Flores. McDaniel is multi-racial. The Houston Texans hired Lovie Smith to replace David Culley.

There's clearly a lot of work to be done when it comes to fixing the Rooney Rule and getting more minorities head coaching jobs and in front offices. Of course, while talking to Goodell is a good start, there also must be conversations with the owners to help fix the hiring process.