In Eric Bieniemy’s quiet moments, his self-reflection time, does the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator wonder “what’s wrong with me?”
Is his handshake too firm? Does he come across too arrogant, or not smart enough?
Is Chiefs coach Andy Reid not advocating hard enough for him? Or is it that the people who worked with Bieniemy, or were coached by him, are giving teams bad reviews?
Those are a few possible explanations why Bieniemy, one of the hottest offensive assistants in the NFL for a couple seasons, was once again not hired to fill one of the nine NFL head coaching vacancies that became open in 2022.
Even though former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores was the Black coach who filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL for its allegedly biased and racist practices, it’s assistants like Bieniemy, and long-time NFL executives like Alonzo Highsmith whom the Rooney Rule have failed the most.
Flores got his shot to run an NFL team, and it would be irresponsible and inaccurate to say race played a factor in his demise with the Dolphins. It didn’t.
The Dolphins are one of the NFL’s most diverse franchises, and proved that yet again by hiring former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, as the team’s second straight person of color to serve as Miami’s head coach.
Flores’ relationship with his owner Steve Ross, general manager Chris Grier, one of the NFL’s few Black executives, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and his expected struggles hiring a better offensive staff cost him his job.
His reputation, and the lawsuit he filed against the NFL last week likely prevented Flores from landing one of the four head coach openings he interviewed for.
But if we’re going to be honest about the state of the NFL, and its troublesome hiring practices, which Flores’ lawsuit hopes to place a spotlight on — if it isn’t thrown out by the court system — we need to discuss how the enhancements made to the Rooney Rule last year are hurting minorities more than helping.
The Rooney Rule doesn’t address the glass ceiling placed over the minorities asked to work their way up organizations.
It doesn’t address that Blacks are often asked to do more, and often with less, for less. But that’s a systemic problem that seeps into every business and industry.
At the root of the problem with the NFL’s hiring practices is the fact that these executives get hired after selling the owners and section committees on a head coach they are going to lure.
See Joe Schoen’s selection with as the Giants’ general manager, and his quick anointment of Brian Daboll, whom he worked with in Buffalo, as a prime example of this. Flores’ issue was that he was the fallback plan in case a team like Miami prevented a deal from getting done with Daboll.
Typically, general managers present a shortlist of candidates they’d target if hired, or sell themselves as package deals. And prospective coaches, like McDaniel, do the exact same thing when making their sales pitches to decision-makers like Ross, proposing that they can land an impressive name like former Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio to run his defense.
Never mind that the Rooney Rule now requires owners to interview not one, but two minority candidates for general manager and head coach openings. It now also forces coaches to interview at least one minority candidate for offensive, defensive and special teams coordinator positions, an alteration that was supposed to be implemented this hiring cycle.
While I initially championed this change, and have for over a decade, in hindsight I now realize Rooney Ruling the coordinator positions has the potential to make the problem worse because it’s putting even more minorities through what Flores labeled ”sham interviews.”
I always thought giving someone qualified an opportunity to present themselves, and make their best sales pitch is beneficial to all parties. Sure, they might not get the job. But it’s the at-bats, the exposure that’s important.
What I didn’t factor in is the emotional anguish, the second-guessing, the doubt and resentment getting passed over time and time again, for years could create for individuals like Flores and Bieniemy.
The unfortunate issue is that while the Rooney Rule has good intentions, nothing will change until the NFL’s hiring process changes, which is what Flores’ 58-page lawsuit presents a great argument for.
Nobody is going to tell 32 of the world’s most powerful businessmen and women how to run their franchises, and dictate who and how they should hire and fire. But the first step to addressing a problem is admitting that there is one, and seeking help. But that only works if you truly want to fix it.
The truth is these owners hire head coaches and top-level executives because they can see themselves in who represents their team.
Creating that type of comfort and familiarity is hard to do when you’re a person of color. So despite the NFL’s steadfast commitment to create the type of change and diversity that will make things better, the league clearly needs to go back to the drawing board with these Rooney Rule directives.
How about we start with a year-long internship program for one minority or woman coach, and one minority or woman executive for every franchise. That’s 64 opportunities for the disenfranchised to learn about the league, the game, their field, and chance to make connections with individuals who could in a decade be in positions of power and influence.
In 10 years that’s 640 diverse individuals who now have experience, and possess some expertise that should open doors that privilege, prestige and comfort can’t close.
And the NFL needs to do a better job of incorporating more former players into the coaching and scouting world. This approach could provide a good start.
Owners could also create a panel of five or so individuals who serve as a hiring committee for general managers and head coaches, and that group should feature a little diversity.
Hopefully that would make the process more transparent to all.
But the starting point is admitting when a well intended policy isn’t working, and shift gears trying to find approaches that actually work.
