Former ESPN commentator Bomani Jones recently made his thoughts clear on there being zero new Black head coaches hired in the [NFL](https://www.pennlive.com/topic/nfl/) this offseason.
Jones spoke on his podcast, _The Right Time with Bomani Jones_, about the Rooney Rule and how it is not working the way it was intended to.
The Rooney Rule was implemented by the NFL in 2003 and requires every team with a head coaching opening to interview at least two minority candidates before making a hire.
“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,” Bomani Jones [said](https://x.com/righttimebomani/status/2018385222291632269?s=20). “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 in this case is the white people who do, or more accurately do not, do some of this hiring. The issue there is them. The issue is the owners. It’s all these people on top. They are the problem.”
There were 10 NFL head coaching openings this offseason, none of which went to Black coaches.
The Rooney Rule was supposed to benefit Black coaches and help them land jobs. Instead, Jones believes it is simply helping white owners and coaches.
“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 that need to make progress,” he said. “It is not us who created these circumstances. It is them who created these circumstances. And they are the ones that need to do better.
“And as I say every year about this, the biggest winner from the Rooney rule and breaking down those barriers of racism would be the white people.”
Bomani Jones worked at ESPN for nearly 20 years, first as a columnist and later appearing on prominent shows “Around the Horn,” “Outside the Lines” and “Highly Questionable.”