Many NFL fans were caught up in arms with the NFL announcing that they were considering incentivizing the Rooney Rule to give teams increased draft positions, and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has his own opinion of it.
The rule requires that NFL teams interview ethnic minorities for head coaching and senior executive positions and is in place to obviously increase the diversity of NFL teams.
And while the NFL would table changes to the rule that would give teams higher draft picks (as much as 6-10 positions higher in the third round for hiring a minority in certain roles), the league did make several alterations to the rule.
In an interview on Coffee With Cal, hosted by University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari, Tomlin spoke out on the recent rule changes:
“We've always taken it from the approach of, punitive if you don't interview minority candidates or things of that nature,” Tomlin said. “I just like the different approach in terms of spinning it 180 and talking about maybe incentivizing those that develop the talent and those that hire the talent.”
Tomlin isn't necessarily in favor of all of the recently made and proposed changes to the Rooney Rule but as one of the four minority head coaches currently in the NFL, Tomlin does like the conversation being created regarding incentivizing the rule.
“We're making some adjustments because we're acknowledging right now that the system is broken, that minorities are not getting enough opportunity,” Tomlin said. “And we're trying to just figure out how to stimulate that. … I agree it's debatable about the value placed on the incentivized plan, but I just generally like the discussion.”
Tomlin has been the head coach of the Steelers since 2006 and has led the team to a 133-74-1 record over that time which has included two Super Bowl appearances (2009 and 2011), with Tomlin's one title coming in 2009.
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