{"id":726712,"date":"2026-02-03T17:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T17:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/726712\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T17:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T17:10:14","slug":"roger-goodell-addresses-lack-of-diversity-in-nfl-coaching-hires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/726712\/","title":{"rendered":"Roger Goodell addresses lack of diversity in NFL coaching hires"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Las Vegas Raiders are widely expected to hire Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as their next head coach after Super Bowl LX. And if that happens, an NFL offseason hiring cycle featuring a record-tying 10 head coaching vacancies will result in zero Black candidates landing those jobs.<\/p>\n

Only one minority candidate was among the 10 hires. Robert Saleh, the former New York Jets head coach and son of Lebanese immigrants, was hired as head coach of the Tennessee Titans.<\/p>\n

During his annual Super Bowl week press conference on Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the lack of diversity in head coaching hires, with the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule and the league\u2019s efforts to increase the minority hires in question.<\/p>\n

Roger Goodell addresses the lack of diversity in NFL head coaching hires this cycle during his annual Super Bowl press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have more work to do.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/5PcTOKlFNA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSince [2019], [the NFL has] expanded the Rooney Rule, you have put in a mandate to try to address the offensive side of the ball with the coaching fellowship program, and you also put candidates in front of the decision-makers,\u201d a reporter said to Goodell. \u201cBut everybody knows that this cycle is 0-for-10 for Black coaches, [1-for-10] for coaches of color. So, should you just be resigned to the fact now that basically nothing you do can move the numbers between three to seven on coaches and three to seven on general managers, those historic numbers that we\u2019ve seen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know me too well to say I\u2019m resigned to something where I think we need to continue to make progress,\u201d Goodell responded. \u201cAnd I believe that. I believe diversity is good for us. I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we still have more work to do,\u201d Goodell said. \u201cThere\u2019s got to be more steps. We\u2019re reevaluating everything we\u2019re doing, including our accelerated program, including every aspect of our policies and our programs, to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow rather than yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we need to be looking at that and sort of say, \u2018Okay, why did we have the results this year?’\u201d Goodell continued. \u201c\u2018What it is that we can be doing in training or education?\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just three of the 32 NFL organizations currently have a Black head coach: the New York Jets with Aaron Glenn, the Houston Texans with DeMeco Ryans, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Todd Bowles. With all of the NFL head coaching positions filled, this will remain a huge storyline into next offseason.<\/p>\n

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