I believe three things

1. Race is a ridiculous thing to make an issue out of. Class and the division of wealth is far more applicable.

2. Affirmative action is both ridiculous and demeaning to minorities and only serves to foster racism and whatever foot in the door it may provide for minorities it can also be to the detriment of a business and government should not intrude on that.

3. The Colts are getting away with it because they don't have a vacancy.

I had a hard time coming up with the full legal language on the Rooney Rule, but I am under the impression that it applies to vacancies. I may be wrong. I found this article by Mike Preston in Baltimore about it,

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/blog/2008/01/jim_caldwell.html

On a completely different, non-racial view of this situation I think it would be completely out of line for the NFL to attempt to step in and punish the Colts. If there had been a vacancy I would completely understand, but there isn't, the team is simply trying to present itself with a fluid future and provide stability for its business. It is as much a business decision as anything else when you talk about hiring coaches. You need to get the right guy so that you can win games and winning games is good business. Many teams that have recycled bad white coaches into their system have paid the price in terms of losses and revenue. George Seifert in Carolina, Dick Jauron in Buffalo, Dan Henning, Jerry Glanville, Infante, Rhodes (oh wait, he's black, that doesn't count), Norv Turner (oh wait, he made the playoffs...he still sucks).

You can't deny the indestructible fact that minority coaches were being held down in the NFL and The Rooney Rule was a must in order to absolutely force organizations to at least interview minority candidates. Now, if they do that because it's a 'token interview' or whatnot, it's at the very least, giving minority candidates an opportunity to interview and perfect their interviewing skills, which can go a long, long way to getting a head coaching job.

the other stuff is personal opinion, which is fine, but the NFL has a rule. It's clear and it's doesn't bend much, if at all.

The whole 'vacancy' thing is false. As soon as Dungy leaves, there is a vacancy. They can not hire until they interview a minority. Now, they are getting around it because Caldwell IS a minority, but shouldn't there be a rule that forces them to interview a 'non-minority' in the case that there is a minority 'waiting in the wings'? I believe so.

The problem is that Irsay/Polian (I can't remember which, I get them confused) made the blanket, firm statement that Caldwell would be the next coach of the Colts once Dungy retired. You can't do that. Now, Jason Garrett may have been brought back to the Cowboys with the thought that he would be the next head coach, but ownership cannot say anything about it firmly until they go through the correct interview process.

The exact reason for The Rooney Rule is because of the recycling of bad white coaches....hence, the 'good old boy network'. It's startling the number of white head coaches that have just been 'recycled' since the inception of the NFL and your list just scratches the surface. The great baseball manager John McGraw once said that you don't want to finish first or last because the fans will become impatient quickly but you want to finish in the middle of the pack with a grinding team so that fans don't know what is going to happen and pay for tickets to find out.....As you can see, sometimes having a winner doesn't always equal huge profits.

It's sad that the NFL had to implement The Rooney Rule, but the point is....if you are going to make sure minorities are being interviewed, don't you have to make sure non-minorities are being interviewed as well?

I DONT deny that the NFL recycled coaches, in FACT, I listed many of the worst of that brand. I will accept that I don't know the language of the Rooney Rule but I do know that if Dungy is staying until the end of next year and that they have already given Caldwell the job when he does then there will not be a vacancy. I believe some good lawyering will support the idea that there can't be a vacancy when something is already booked. I think good lawyering will stand up should anyone be sued. Regardless, Caldwell is a minority and I think it is great if affirmative action bites itself int he ass. Everyone should watch the Boondocks, its a great show.

Actually, you can't hire anyone unless there is a 'vacancy' since there can't be two head coaches. So....there must be a 'vacancy' and a complete interview process. The Rooney Rule is pretty cut and dry.

ACTUALLY.....that was just to get your attention.

I'm getting deep into the Google database and finding some 'out of date' blogs showing that their might be a loophole in The Rooney Rule because the Redskins "supposedly" promised Gregg Williams the job once Joe Gibbs retired, thus allowing for an 'in house' candidate being hired without the interview process taking place. That was from blogs/message boards a few years ago......Fast forward to today and Gibbs retired a few weeks ago and instead of just hiring Williams the Redskins are running through the interview process so.....

Post the language if you can, I haven't been able to find it. I cannot agree with your assessment of how you can and cannot fill a position. It happens in business all the time. People find their successors and bring them into the fold with full knowledge of everyone in the given environment that the instant they step down this person is in charge. I would also be interested in knowing why their must be an "interview process". It seems that greater continuity can be found by devising a plan for leadership before a person leaves.

In addition, I would like to know why this is such a big deal to you. It worked. A black guy is getting hired. I want to know why Parcells isn't getting more flak. He knew he was hiring Sparano, and was negotiating a contract with Dallas' QB coach to come to Miami while he was giving his token interview to Leslie Frazer. Frazer knew he never had a chance for that job, the Fins were already bringing Dallas staff over and just waiting for the black guy to get out the door so they could bring Sparano in. Who is more criminal in terms of ignoring minorities? the team that jumps at the chance to secure a minority coach or the guys that only pay the Rooney Rule lip service?

It matters to me because A) I find it interesting B) if it's one way, it should be the other way and C) I spent a year studying this information in school for a research paper and presentation.

It's not my assessment of how to fill a position, it's the NFL's position.

Yes, it would be great if organizations could line up their coaches for the continuity of the organization, but what if the organization isn't well run? This rule has been put in place to make sure organizations follow through the process.

By the NFL's standards...the team that jumps at securing coaches is more criminal. I like the Rooney Rule because of happened in the past, but there is room to improve upon it. I think that this is a golden opportunity to do so.

What the redskins are doing and what the Dolphins are doing is why the Rooney Rule is irrelevant. Affirmative Action is a sham. It doesn't foster equality and it doesn't do anything but prop someone up under false pretenses. If it gets your foot in the door, so what? It makes old white men look like bigots, and I am all for that, but it doesn't grant equality. You can't legislate what is in people's minds. 1984 is a great book. I believe that the government, at its earliest opportunity, may try to legislate thought. That may make a good post...

Our government is out of control. Our economy is out of control. The only thing worth having is a good woman and a rifle.

Tony Dungy defended the Rooney Rule in 2006, insisting that the process benefited everyone, because it prevented owners from simply hiring famous names:

Pensive and peaceful by nature, Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy rarely reveals his passionate side.But one issue that piques his interests is the Rooney Rule, the NFL mandate that teams interview at least one minority candidate for head-coaching jobs. Since 2002, when the rule was instituted, the number of African-American coaches has increased from two to six, and three of them, including Dungy, were leading candidates to win the NFL coach of the year award, which went to Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears on Saturday.So is the rule now rubbish?"We still need the Rooney Rule," Dungy insisted last week. "The Rooney Rule makes people stop and investigate other people who are not front-page guys. "I think that, to me, is where the success of a Marvin Lewis, a Lovie Smith, a Herman Edwards, helps," Dungy said. "People say, 'I do have to follow a rule, but I might just turn up the coach of the year.'

It's the NFL man, not me. The Rooney Rule is not irrelevant to minority head coaches who are gaining valuable experience by interviewing for these jobs and getting into the 'system'.

The Rooney rule is horsheshit but I am past it. After my last thought I became completely occupied with the fact that our courts have given our President the authority to claim that American citizens are "enemy combatants" and allows them to be detained by the military without notifying their lawyers or family. Now that, in my expert opinion, is injustice. Thats the sort of thing I studied in school.

you are allowed your opinion but the facts and statistics show that The Rooney Rule is helping.

Why don't you do something useful and find us a decent place to play basketball while they are playing IMs in the HPER?

why don't you do something useful and extrapolate all your NFL knowledge into a post?

I am busy writing the treatise (manifesto) the cops are going to find at the bottom of the pile of bodies.

Bruce-

Class and the division of wealth are not applicable in the case of the Rooney Rule. Whether you like it or not, the NFL did put in their version of affirmative action. They did it to "better" the game and to make everyone happy in this overly politically correct world.

I'm sure that the Colts aren't trying to pull one over on the NFL, but they aren't exempt from any rules. While their candidate is black, they are already "satisfying" the rule. That is fine, I don't really care about a person's race, but I do care when people use race as a reason to get unfair treatment...whether it is in work, school, play, etc..

I apologize for not being more clear, when I indicated that division of wealth and class were more applicable issues I was speaking in terms of social equality in the United States not exclusively the NFL. Division of wealth does not exist in the NFL, they are all fantastically wealthy. Minimum rook contract is 285,000 bones. Do you realize how much rice and 5.56 I could buy for that?

I don't know a whole lot of the language of the Roonery Rule but it sounds much like what is happening in business around the nation. Many state sponsored agencies (ex. Indiana) have to purchase a certain % of their product from minority or women owned businesses. I'm actually writing up a bid for a job this week that will run through a minority owned business as that will gain an advantage and helps all parties. Whether that is wrong or not, it does not bend the rules. So, I'm sure there is some way through lawyering or not that can keep the Colts in check with the league.

I know this is probably long since faded or already discussed, but I heard that there is a loophole in that if it is in an Assistants contract that he becomes headcoach then it is ok. Hence today the Seahawks announcing Jim Mora as their coach NEXT YEAR!! I have not yet decided whether I like the Rooney Rule or not, however, it seems more and more minorities are getting the nod. Will we start seeing an influx of "Head Coaches to be" clauses in Assitants contracts, thereby, bypassing the Rooney Rule? We've seen a couple already, one of them even a minority to boot. All I can wonder is Should the NFL fix this loophole? (assuming said loophole actually exists)

Josh

I saw that as well and it's certainly a loophole that needs to be looked at for the exact reasons you wrote about.