Why proposed NFL Draft compensation for minority hires won’t pass

Ownership will be voting on a new proposed rule that would give teams a boost to their NFL Draft positioning if they hire minority head coaches or GMs

Currently in the NFL, there are only four head coaches who are of a minority descent, in Washington’s Ron Rivera, Anthony Lynn of the Los Angeles Chargers, Brian Flores of the Miami Dolphins, and Mike Tomlin. NFL owners will now be voting on a rule to give a boost to teams in the third round of the NFL Draft who hire a minority head coach or general manager.

There are four head coaches, but only two minority general managers in the form of Andrew Berry of the Cleveland Browns, and Chris Grier of the Miami Dolphins. While the ownership of teams may be voting on this, this proposed rule will not pass for a couple of reasons.

Before we get into why this rule will not pass, here are some additional propositions on top of jumping up six spots in the third round for hiring a minority head coach, and ten spots for a general manager:

"“Additional draft compensation would be afforded to teams that lost a minority coach to a head position (third-round pick) or coordinator job (fifth-round pick) elsewhere, per the report. A team could also improve its fourth-round pick by five slots if a minority coach or general manager was still with the team entering their third year, according to NFL.com. Bringing on a minority quarterbacks coach would yield a fourth-round compensatory pick, so long as the candidate was set to be retained after one season.” (via USA Today)"

The first reason this rule will not get through voting is the massive disproportion among owners. All 32 teams are run by white owners, most of which were outspoken in opposition to Colin Kaepernick and his silent protest a couple years back; he has not seen a snap in the league since 2016.

More from With the First Pick

• 2024 NFL Draft: Prospect Viewing Guide for Week 0
• 2024 NFL Draft: All Eyes On NFL Draft Defensive Prospects
• Player Spotlight: USC Safety Calen Bullock
• 2024 Senior Bowl Watchlist Announced
• 2024 NFL Draft: Florida State is Loaded with Prospect in 2023

The second and main reason why this rule will not pass, is because it is an extremely flawed rule. While it is understandable what the NFL is trying to accomplish by boosting the NFL Draft stock of teams who hire a minority head coach or general manager, this is certainly not the way to increase that pipeline.

For two straight years, Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy has interviewed for head coaching positions and has been passed up. Will this rule help coaches like Bienemy to land a head coaching job? Yes. However, hiring a coach for the direct purpose of helping your team’s draft stock is neither beneficial to the team in the long run, nor the coach.

Yes, the NFL does need a better way to prepare and integrate minorities into their prestigious roles such as head coaches and general managers. No, incentivising draft positioning to make teams more willing to hire a minority decision maker is not the way to accomplish this task.

This rule will not pass, and thankfully so. This rule will only tokenize minority coaches and general managers for the sake of the success of their franchise, rather than hiring the best man for the job.