Commissioner Roger Goodell received an investigative subpoena from Florida’s attorney general on May 13. The demand requires the NFL to produce internal documents by mid-June. What those files contain could reshape the league’s hiring approach.
That subpoena followed a March warning letter from James Uthmeier that threatened civil action. He argued that the Rooney Rule violated Florida law by factoring race into hiring decisions.
The NFL then rewrote its public description of the rule on its website. The changes softened language around minority hiring after Uthmeier’s challenge.
Sep 15, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in attendance before the Kansas City Chiefs play against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in attendance before the Kansas City Chiefs play against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The Rooney Rule was adopted in 2003 and named after the late Steelers owner Dan Rooney. It requires teams to interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach and general manager openings.
The old NFL site languagesaid the rule aimed to “increase the number of minorities hired” in leadership roles. Now it says the rule “expands the pool of candidates considered” and adds that candidates are “qualified.”
The league also removed a sentence that said diversity “enriches the game and creates a more effective, quality organization.” The current version describes the rule as best practices designed to expand opportunity.
Before the 2025 season, the NFL ended a mandate requiring all 32 teams to hire a minority offensive assistant. That 2022 policyreimbursed half the salary and was meant as temporary funding.
The league said it could not guarantee that every hire would receive real developmental opportunities. The mandate was phased out before the attorney general’s push began.
In 2022, former Dolphins coach Brian Flores sued the NFL over discriminatory hiring practices. That lawsuit led to the offensive assistant mandate and other policy changes.
Roger Goodell Defends Rooney Rule Amid Calls for Greater Diversity in NFL Hiring
RogerGoodell defended the rule at the March league meetings in Phoenix. He called the Rooney Rule “consistent” with existing hiring laws and said clubs make their own decisions.
“One thing that doesn’t change is our values, and we believe that diversity has been a benefit to the National Football League,” Goodell said. “We are well aware of the laws and where the laws are changing or evolving. We think the Rooney Rule is consistent with those.”
Of 10 head coach openings this offseason, Robert Saleh was the only minority candidate hired. Saleh, hired by the Tennessee Titans as head coach, is of Lebanese descent.
The latest subpoena from Uthmeier extends beyond the Rooney Rule itself. It demands documents on the offensive assistant mandate, the diversity accelerator program, and compensatory picks for developing minority talent.
Uthmeier called the changes ” partial capitulation” but said they raise more questions under Florida’s deceptive trade practices law. The NFL told Uthmeier that the website was carrying outdated information that was being updated.
His letter asked why those descriptions were on the site in the first place. The league must navigate how much to adjust its diversity efforts without dismantling them.