Overview
- Goodell, speaking Tuesday at the NFL’s annual meeting in Phoenix, said the league will keep the Rooney Rule and believes it complies with the law.
- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier gave the NFL a May 1 deadline to stop enforcing the policy for the Dolphins, Jaguars and Buccaneers and threatened civil-rights enforcement.
- Steelers president Art Rooney II said owners discussed the letter and expect no major changes, noting the rule requires interviews and does not mandate hires.
- The policy requires teams to interview at least two external diverse candidates for head coach and general manager searches and at least one for certain senior roles, and it was expanded in 2022 to include women.
- This offseason saw one minority hire among 10 head-coach openings and just five minority head coaches set for 2026, figures that fuel the dispute in a broader rollback of DEI programs in some states.