The Rooney Rule

The NFL Rooney Rule says that before an NFL team hires a head coach, general manager or any upper management position they had to interview a minority candidate. Sounds like a good way of helping minorities obtain upper management positions in the NFL. Sounds, good, but in reality if pretty much a sham. In reality, most of the time the teams already know who they want as a head coach or GM and the interviews are a formality. A token if you will.

Take for instance this year's to big firings and hirings. The Washington Redskins knew before they ever fired Jim Zorn that they wanted Mike Shanahan. Everyone knew Shanahan had the job. Still The Redskins went through the motions of interviewing minority candidates.

Now the Seattle Seahawks have fired Jim Mora and have targeted USC's Pete Carrol as his replacement. According to all the talking heads at ESPN the deal is done, Carrol will be the Seahawks head coach. The parties have already agreed to terms in principle. Now Seattle wants to "interview" minority candidates.

Now I am not a real big proponent of affirmative action or quotas, but;

If you are a minority coaching in the NFL why would you interview for this job? Why help a team that has no intention of considering you a candidate comply to the rules? I think all the minority candidates should just refuse the interview and let the Seahawks, and any other team that has already made a decision on their position just have to deal with what ever penalty there is for failing to comply to the Rooney Rule.