Rob Parker: “Get rid of the ‘Rooney Rule’. It’s garbage, it’s boulder dash, it’s poppycock – IT AIN’T REAL. These guys already knew who they were going to hire and they parade the black coaches past the media like a dog and pony show.”
Chris Broussard: “Do you think Dallas seriously considered Marvin Lewis?”
Rob: “NOT AT ALL. They brought him in for a cup of coffee and a sweet roll, and to take pictures and let people know ‘Marvin Lewis came to Dallas! We checked the box!’ They had no intentions of hiring Marvin Lewis and it’s embarrassing and wrong. There is no way we should be treated like that and going on token interviews that don’t matter. Years ago when I was in Detroit, the Lions were going to hire Steve Mariucci and the NFL said they couldn’t do it until they followed through with the 'Rooney Rule'. You know what they did? They called up all these black guys to interview and to their credit, NONE of them went to Detroit, because everyone in the league knew Mariucci already had the job. They didn’t want to show up to no dog and pony show to pacify some damn league rule that isn’t doing the job that it’s supposed to.”
Chris: “If I’m an African-American coach and I know I’m just being brought in to fulfill some Rooney Rules, I’m not going.” (Full Audio at Bottom of Page)
Listen to Rob Parker explain to co-host Chris Broussard why he’s not happy with the direction of the NFL’s well-known ‘Rooney Rule’ and why he believes that it has become a laughably predictable charade at this point.
The landmark rule named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney was instituted in 2003 requiring NFL teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching jobs.
Its main goal was to make sure the league always had a handful of minority head coaches around the NFL, but the rule only requires teams to offer interviews to minority candidates.
Rob thinks many NFL teams have made a mockery of the rule and have simply checked their boxes by bringing in African-American candidates for ‘token interviews’ with no real desire of ever hiring them.
For this reason, Rob thinks it’s nothing short of disgraceful when he hears that even candidates the likes of weathered former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis was being interviewed by the Dallas Cowboys, despite his name appearing like a complete longshot for the coveted position.
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has been one of the top candidates for a head coaching position the last few years, but has yet to make the jump to head coach, despite countless interviews. Many believe that some of Bieniemy's interviews were offered only to suffice the 'Rooney Rule'.
Mike Tomlin of the Steelers, Anthony Lynn of the Chargers, and Ron Rivera of the Redskins are the league's only minority head coaches at the moment.
Check out the audio below as Rob says the league needs to think about getting rid of the rule altogether, and details why it’s become embarrassing to minorities at this point.
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