The Rooney Rule revisited

The Superbowl is less than a week away. The Arizona Cardinals shocked the world with their improbable run to the big game. The Steelers make their seventh appearance second only to the Dallas Cowboys in regards to the amount of Superbowl trips. Pro football has taken a different approach to ensuring that the NFL is commited to diversity at all levels.

Corporations that embrace the ideal of diversity have put themselves in a better position to compete in today's global economy. Pete Rosell was a visionary who knew that a multicultural television audience could push his vision of the Superbowl to new heights. Forty three years later his bold vision has paid dividends to the NFL as a business and has made the league a player in today's global economy.

How does the sentiment of diversity breakdown to the little people who actually make this league tick. College football's struggle to provide fair opportunities to minorities in the coaching and administrative arena have been well documented. 2007 saw two African American leading their teams in the battle for coaching and team immortality.

This year is a more intriguing spectacle considering that these two head coaches have indirectly crossed paths. When Bill Cowher steeped down following the Steeler's Superbowl victory, it seemed as though Ken Whisenhunt was the right man for the job. He was the offensive coordinator and rightfully so gained a lot of attention after the great job he had done.

The Rooney's brought in another young upstart candidate in Mike Tomlin, who in some respects may have reminded them of the chance they took on another unproven guy in Bill Cowher. Cowher was also in his early 30's and presented a persona that exemplified talent, leadership and the uncanny ability to get results.

The Bill Cowhers and Jon Gruden's of the world raised eyebrows but not to the extent that Tomlin's hire may have. The world is used to young white guys being bright, articulate and full of youthful ideas, oozing with possibilities because of their percieved talent. The Mike Tomlin's of the world have had to take the path of Tony Dungy who was hired as a defensive backs coach for the University of Minnesota. (Dungy's alma mater where he played Quarterback)

The legendary Chuck Knoll lured Dungy back to the NFL in 1981. Tomlin had multiple stops in college before landing in the NFL. It is not by coincidence that he ended up working for the Rooney's. The rule famously named after the trailblazing owner was received with mixed emotions among NFL executives, players, media and fans alike.

The consensus among most was that the "best candidate" should get the job. Of course on the surface that sounds great and has an element of truth to it but that wasn't the case for the hiring practices of the NFL. The crux of the arguement is that someone as bright as Ken Whisenhunt would get passed over for a minority candidate "less qualified".

Fair arguement on the surface until one considers all of the Dave Campos and Marty Mornhinweg's of the world. Chris Rock once said that the true litmus test for racial equality was when a minority can suck just like the white guys. The poetic justice for this years Superbowl is that we have seen the Rooney Rule come full circle and no one has really said very much about it.

This is one of the rare times where this dicey issue has a credible example for both sides of the arguement. Quite frankly, it shows how incredibly complex it is to find the right candidate. How would you like it if you were an executive for the Detroit Lions or Kansas City Chiefs? Mike Tomlin's immediate success may have been the catalyst for Tampa Bay's hiring Raheem Morris.

Jim Caldwell's hiring last week probably has prompted rumblings of "reverse discrimination" considering that Caldwell is black and that a formal interviewing process didn't occur. This sentiment is unfortunate but is on par with the harsh reality of some who believe that the "silent majority" have been far in developing minority coaches.

The San Francisco 49er organization under the ownership of the Debartlo family joins the Rooney's as one of the few that helped to give minority coaches like Dennis Green and Ray Rhodes an opportunity to develop. Ray Rhodes was the head coach for one year at Green Bay after successful stints as a defensive coordinator while Denny Green has stints as a head coach in Minnesota and Arizona.

Besides these two organizations which franchises can say that they were truly on board with the development of minority coaches? The Cardinals got their man and its safe to say that they wouldn't have gotten to the superbowl without the leadership of Whisenhunt. It was Ken that made the hard decision to bench Matt Leinart in favor of the veteran Kurt Warner.

Tomlin has also shown he belongs by continuing the winning tradition of the Steelers by installing a no nonsense approach to execution on the football field. He has put to bed (for now) that the Rooney Rule doesn't work. Whisenhunt as equally contributed to this idea as well. Let us hope that the sports world continues to evolve as society increasingly becomes more diverse. The game on Sunday is a positive step in that very direction. It has also become a shining example for why this rule is so important to the overall success of pro football.