The NFL Announces New DEI Efforts
In the NFL’s fall league meeting, the league reported diversity results amongst all 32 football clubs.
Hiring process changes included
- inclusive training for all head coach, general manager searches, and owners.
- third-party coaches or consultant expertise for head coach or general manager hiring searches.
- An example of this is the NFL requiring all 32 teams to employ a “female or ethnic or racial minority members” as an offensive statement.
- Aside from having at least 3 years of collegiate or professional experience, the NFL will reimburse teams up to $200,000 in 2022 and $205,000 in 2023.
- So far, the NFL has 15 minority defensive coordinators, 7 minority general managers, 6 minority assistant general managers, and 12 all-time women coaches.
- The extra hiring placement for minority representation is headed towards the number of head coaches and offensive coordinators.
The Diversity Advisory Committee (DAC) was formed in March of 2022 to engage directly with league staff, club owners, front office executives, and head and assistant coaches.
a. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, the chairman of the NFL’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, stated that minorities tended to be in the offensive coordinator role.
b. Under the Rooney Rule, at least two “external minorities” have to be interviewed for head or assistant coaching positions or leadership managerial positions.
c. The NFL requires all teams to have a minority or female as an offensive assistant.
d. For greater financial incentive, if these positions were filled by either females or minorities, the clubs were to be covered partially by league stipends.
How did the club ensure that the league was diverse?
- They relied on third party data to accumulate and analyze data based on customized diversity reports.
- They collected datapoints based on race, ethnicity, gender, and generational diversity.
- NFL teams set their DEI plans with an emphasis on “diverse recruiting,” “DEI education and training,” “hire head of DEI,” and “pay equity analysis.”
How do the clubs accelerate networking, program, and development?
For the May 2022 meeting, 61 prospective head coaches and general manager candidates partook in two days of programming:
a. gaining exposure to club owners and senior staff members
b. educating about the business of football
c. partaking in leadership development and recruitment training for head coaches and general managers
d. developing meaningful relationships with club owners and key executives
How do the clubs build on the success of the accelerator program?
a. They provided development programming and individualized support for those in the program.
b. The league office offered to provide more networking and development opportunities during the Winter League Meeting.
