The NFL recorded a record 10 coaching vacancies this offseason, but assuming Las Vegas moves forward as expected and hires Klint Kubiak as its next head coach, none of the jobs will have gone to a Black coach.

Given that dismal fact, the annual discussion around the Rooney Rule has been even louder this winter. While the rule has helped slow the hiring process and give other candidates a chance to shine, 10 teams still passed on Black candidates.

But while some in the media questioned the efficacy of the Rooney Rule itself this week as the coaching carousel came to a halt, veteran host Bomani Jones defended the rule in a Monday segment on his podcast, The Right Time.

“The problem with hiring as it relates to race in the NFL is not the Rooney Rule. The problem is not that the Rooney Rule is ineffective. That would be like saying that the problem with cancer is that you can’t fix it with an aspirin,” Jones explained. “That is not about the limitations of aspirin, that’s about the problem with cancer. And the NFL has a cancer of racism when it comes to hiring people at these levels. The problem is [owners].”

Jones believes that this offseason, as in several past seasons, the problem Black coaches face is that they are not seen as “Boy Geniuses.” Unlike the branches of the Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan coaching trees, Jones explained, the Black coaches who cut through are typically from the defensive side of the ball.

Even among those candidates, Raheem Morris was fired by the Atlanta Falcons, while coordinators like Anthony Weaver and Brian Flores were passed over.

While Jones emphasized that he does not have all the answers to how to solve the problem, he said the media needs to be specific about the cause.

“The problem in this case is the white people who do, or more accurately, do not do some of the hiring. The issue there is them. The issue is the owners,” Jones added. “They are the problem. And I don’t think we can ever truly have any measure of solution on this until we are more honest on who the issue is. The issue is the people who ultimately decided to enact a Rooney Rule … [for whom] it is only under the threat of litigation that they will act.”

The Rooney Rule requires teams to conduct in-person interviews with at least two women or racial minority candidates. Only one team (the Detroit Lions in 2003) has been punished for an infraction.

Yet the number of racial minority head coaches in the NFL typically fluctuates between five and eight each season — an improvement, but still far lower than the proportion of racial minority athletes in the league.

Jones pointed out that the situation overall is better than it was before the Rooney Rule, but urged white people to keep their eye on the ball.

“Things are not what they were. They are not good enough, but it is important for those of us who speak on these matters to acknowledge where things have gotten better,” Jones said.

“When it comes to progress in the presence of racism, it is not me and my people who need to make progress; it is white people who need to make progress. It is not us who created these circumstances, it is them who created these circumstances, and it is them who need to do better.”