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nick wagner
multiple authors
SAN JOSE, Calif. – A day after 10 head coaching positions on the NFL’s coaching carousel were filled by all but one minority candidate, Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league will take a closer look at everything involved to “continue progress” on the Rooney Rule and diversity.
“I think we’ve become a more diverse league on every platform, including coaching, but we still have more work to do,” Goodell said. “More steps have to be taken. We are reevaluating everything we are doing, including the Accelerator program, incorporating every aspect of our policies into our program to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, rather than yesterday. We need to look at this and why did we get these results this year?”
Speaking Monday during his annual Week of the Super Bowl news conference at the San Jose Convention Center, Goodell asked five questions directly or indirectly related to the Rooney Rule, which was adopted in 2003 and requires every team with a head-coaching, coordinator or general manager to interview at least two minority candidates before hiring. Teams must also interview at least one minority candidate for the quarterbacks coach position.
Goodell said Monday that every team was complying with the Rooney Rule in the head-coaching cycle and added that he “believes” every team with a head-coach opening has “exceeded” the Rooney Rule by interviewing more than the required two minority candidates this year.
still, tennessee titans Coach Robert Saleh, who is of Lebanese descent, was the only minority candidate to hold the top job, and no Black head coaches were hired. This marks the fifth time since the Rooney Rule was implemented that no Black head coach was hired during the offseason cycle.
Heading into the 2026 season, there are three Black head coaches remaining in the NFL: houstonDemeco Ryans, Tampa BayTodd Bowles and New York Jets‘Aaron Glenn.
“We have to continue to evaluate everything we’re doing and every aspect of the recruiting process to see how we can professionalize it to the best of our ability,” Goodell said. “I think some of the changes we’ve made are allowing more time for interviews… but we’ll see it from year to year where you’ll have different results and it’s something we’ll have to look at. But we’ll look at it from time to time and it’s something we have to evaluate so we can learn and then continue to focus on what we can do better across the 32 clubs and the league.”
Goodell was also asked Monday about the cancellation last year of the league’s Accelerator program, which was designed to connect coaches from diverse backgrounds with owners and team executives in 2022, and whether that had an impact on this year’s hiring cycle. Goodell said he did not believe the accelerator program’s hiatus was related to the lack of diverse hires in this year’s coaching cycle and indicated the program would return in some form in 2026.
“I think long term it’s something we want to continue to do and figure out how we can use it to make sure guys understand the talent level and how to give them opportunities to continue their careers,” Goodell said. “And that goes to all the talent throughout the NFL and guys who aren’t in the NFL.”
Despite the lack of results provided by the Rooney Rule during the 2026 recruiting cycle, Goodell stressed that the rule remains an overall positive and said the change in how and when teams can interview candidates has opened the door for more candidates to interview. He said teams around the league would dispute the notion that it has become a box to check for teams hiring coaches or football decision makers.
“We’re in a competitive league,” Goodell said. “Guys have been challenged and we’ve had 10 opportunities this year. Teams are trying to bring in coaches they think they can win. I think removing the time pressure is one of the things we’ve focused on in policy as a league so they can independently make a good decision. But a decision that’s based on being able to look at the diversity of candidates. And I think that only benefits the NFL, and I “The Rooney Rule seems to have done that.”
