NFL commissioner acknowledged the league still has work to do to make progress on diversity when hiring head coaches
SAN JOSE — One day after the NFL’s round of coaching hires was completed, with 10 head coaching positions filled, but only one by a minority candidatethe commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the league would further examine the Rooney Rule and all that it entails to “continue moving forward” on diversity.
“I think we have become a more diverse league in all areas, including coaching, but we still have work to do,” he said. Roger Goodell. “We have to take more steps. We are reevaluating everything we doincluding the acceleration program, including every aspect of our policies and programs to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, not those of yesterday. “We need to look at this and why we got these results this year.”
At the annual Super Bowl week press conference, held Monday at the San Jose Convention Center, Roger Goodell answered five questions related directly or indirectly to the Menstruation Rooneyadopted in 2003, requiring each team with a head coach, coordinator or general manager vacancy to interview at least two minority candidates before making a hire. Teams must also interview at least one minority candidate for the quarterbacks coach position.
Roger Goodell stated that all teams complied with the Menstruation Rooney in the head coaching hiring cycle and that he “believes” that all teams with a head coaching vacancy “exceeded” the Menstruation Rooney this year by interviewing more than the two required minority candidates.
However, Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh, of Lebanese descent, was the only minority candidate to land a high-level job, and no African-American head coach was hired. It is the fifth time since the implementation of the Menstruation Rooney that no African-American head coach is hired during an offseason cycle.
Heading into the 2026 season, there are three African American head coaches in the NFL: DeMeco Ryans of the Houston Texans, Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Aaron Glenn of the New York Jets.
“We have to continue evaluating everything we do and every aspect of the hiring process, how can we professionalize it to the maximum?” he indicated. Roger Goodell. “I think one of the changes we implemented was spending more time on interviews. … But we will see that the results vary from year to year, and that is something we need to look at. This will happen from time to time, and we need to evaluate it to learn and continue to focus on how we can improve across the 32 teams and the league as a whole.
A Roger Goodell He was also asked about the cancellation of the league’s accelerator program last year, designed in 2022 to connect coaches from diverse backgrounds with team owners and executives, and whether this had affected this year’s hiring process. Roger Goodell He said he did not believe the suspension of the accelerator program was related to the lack of hiring of people from diverse backgrounds in this year’s cycle and indicated that the program would return in some form this year.
“I think long term it’s something we want to continue and find a way to use it to make sure people understand the level of talent that’s out there and how to give them opportunities to continue their careers,” he said. Roger Goodell. “And this applies to all the talent in the NFL and people who are not part of the NFL.”
Despite the lack of results that the Menstruation Rooney provided during the 2026 hiring cycle, Roger Goodell He insisted the rule is still a positive factor and said changes to how and when teams can interview candidates have opened the door for more candidates to be interviewed. He added that the league’s teams would refute the idea that it has become a simple formality for teams looking to hire coaches or sports decision-makers.
“We’re in a competitive league,” he said. Roger Goodell. “There’s a lot of competition and we had 10 openings this year. Teams try to get the coaches they think they can win. I think removing the time pressure is one of the things we’ve focused on as a league in policy, to give them that time so they can make a very good decision independently. A decision that is based on being able to consider the diversity of candidates. And I think that only benefits the NFL, and I think the Menstruation Rooney has contributed to it.”
