NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not giving up on the Rooney Rule following this year's hiring cycle.
The NFL's latest head coach hiring cycle has come and gone with 10 openings being filled around the league. However, zero Black head coaches were hired, despite nearly one third of the league looking for their next leaders.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is still backing the need for diversity, and thus, the Rooney Rule, though.
"We need to continue to make progress and I believe that. I believe diversity is good for us," Goodell said during his annual state of the NFL news conference on Monday. "I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching. But we still have more work to do. There's got to be more steps. So we're re-evaluating everything we're doing, including our accelerator program, including every aspect of our policies and programs to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow rather than yesterday."
"We need to be looking at that, and saying, 'OK, Why did we have the results this year? What is it that we can be doing in training or education?' And that goes for not just the candidates, but also the clubs, and how we can try to continue to increase the opportunities and the outcomes, ultimately."
The Rooney Rule was established in 2003, when there were just two Black head coaches. It requires teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach and general manager vacancies, as well as one for various coordinator positions. The rule was named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney .
However, heading the 2026 season, there will be just three Black head coaches, despite roughly 70 percent of NFL players being Black .
There were also five Black head coaches heading into the 2025 season — Steelers' Mike Tomlin and Atlanta Falcons ' Raheem Morris are no longer with their respective teams.
Pittsburgh Steelers' chairman Dan Rooney speaks on stage flanked by his son the team president Art Rooney II, right, and players tight end Heath Miller, left, and wide receiver Antonio Brown during an NFL fan rally event in Regent Street, London, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. The Minnesota Vikings are to play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley stadium in London on Sunday, Sept. 29 in a regular season NFL game. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Roger Goodell Backs Rooney Rule After Latest Hiring Cycle
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