The NFL, now as always, is rooted in money-making motives dictated by those with far too much money from the start. That's as true as due north on a compass, even among those lacking the moral equivalent.
Disinfecting sunshine of the most necessary kind arrived this week after former Dolphins coach Brian Flores released a text exchange with well-connected Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
In the kind of technological fumble that everyone uncomfortably has experienced, Belichick purportedly texted the wrong person with sensitive information. He congratulated a former New England assistant coach named Brian for landing the head coaching position with the Giants.
The issue: The text meant for Brian Daboll, who is White, landed on the phone of Flores, who was competing for the same job.
The real issue: Flores, who is Black, had not yet interviewed.
The real, real issue: The Rooney Rule, in a sudden and seemingly provable way, might finally be revealed as an optics-massaging sham.
If closer inspection of the NFL, Giants, Dolphins and Broncos via a lawsuit by Flores reveals the backroom gymnastics to be systemic, as so many believe, it could be one of the most impactful moments in league history.
What lingers under the surface of the discussion, however, poses a more basic question about the subtle racism rooted in the dusty, narrow thinking of largely White owners.
Black athletes comprise nearly 70 percent of the NFL. Owners hardly flinch at paying those players millions upon millions in an effort to reach the Super Bowl and engorge already bloated bank accounts.
Yet, there are only six Black general managers and one current Black coach, Mike Tomlin of the Steelers. There are just two minority owners, neither of whom are Black.
Why doesn't the confidence in the athletic ability of Blacks as a smart-business practice fuel confidence in chasing trophies and those same financial goals once playing careers end?
That's the concerning, hypocritical message being delivered. Those in key decision-making roles are saying, collectively, that they trust the on-field skills — but not the leadership skills, not the communication skills, not the organizational skills.
Time and again, retread White coaches fail in one city and simply prance across to the next. Meanwhile, the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football leadership positions, has become toothless, modern-day eyewash.
Check a box, then go right back to the good-ol'-boys club the Rooney Rule was intended to address.
It's never been ripped more raw than now, though, for all to see.
In an insightful ESPN interview, former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he has interviewed for five positions since he was fired in Cincinnati. Lewis, who is Black, relayed the story of his experience when the Panthers sought a head coach.
Lewis said, before he interviewed, a media source reported Carolina was set to hire John Fox. That was before Lewis' scheduled interview. When he asked management about the report, Lewis said the team denied a decision had been made.
They later hired Fox.
It's unclear whether that situation matched the one Flores alleges. Then again, what's your gut tell you? Did the media report predicting the hiring of Fox, a one-time San Diego State player and graduate assistant, rely on some magical crystal ball? Did Belichick pluck the Giants' decision about Daboll out of thin air?
There's more head-scratchers out there, particularly given the talented pool of Black candidates who remain sidelined.
So, how do you bust through the tired or tainted practices with owners? Short of a newer, more diverse group of owners, it would require incentivizing what matters most to most. That's making and protecting money.
Take aim at the pocketbook.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could propose significant fines or draft and playoff-eligibility penalties of the scale that would matter to the money-soaked club.
Yeah, right. The commissioner works directly for and at the will of his 32 bosses. His obnoxious annual salary, according to the New York Times, averaged more than $63 million in each of the past two years. Anything that jeopardizes owner wealth or winning in real ways is the ultimate non-starter.
The alternative is to prove that talented, hungry Black coaching candidates are just as capable of sparking success as the Black players filling NFL rosters. That, though, is the chicken meeting the problematic egg.
More organizations need to hire more Black coaches more often. Increase the coaching pool, while decreasing the rareness of those decisions and normalizing diversity along the way.
Remember the absurd belief in NFL front offices that Black players could not play quarterback? Stars like Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham and others began to erode the foolishly flawed thinking.
Remember when Washington's Doug Williams became the first Black quarterback to play in the Super Bowl, named MVP in the 1988 game played at Jack Murphy Stadium? Look at the landscape now, with two big-game winners — Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes — in the last eight years.
None of this addresses the allegations of paid tanking that also rose out of this week's lawsuit, but that's another head-shaking column for another day.
Perhaps the lightning bolt delivered by Flores will shift thinking about Black coaching candidates and increase the pressure to truly consider them. Or perhaps the mostly White owners, insulated by riches, will quietly dig in against the change that inevitably will come.
Why are we still having these types of conversations, in this day and age?
Good question.
