NFL hiring practices a racial sham

By Joseph Finlay

The Seattle Seahawks have reached a deal in principle with famed and the current University of Southern California coach Pete Carroll, paving the way for the coaching legend to likely make a huge splash into the NFL coaching ranks.

The national and sports media are likely to spend hours debating the merits of Carroll leaving a college dynasty for the shifting fortunes of the NFL - the same NFL that devoured Steve Spurrier in his short stint with the Redskins several years ago. Less likely to be discussed, if at all, is the hypocrisy and institutionalized racism of the NFL's affirmative action hiring policy known as the Rooney Rule - named for former Pittsburgh Steelers owner, unabashed Obama supporter, and current US ambassador to Ireland: Dan Rooney:

Carroll was expected to be introduced by the Seahawks as early as Monday, after the team interviewed Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier on Saturday morning.
According to the sources, Frazier met with the Seahawks in Minneapolis, satisfying the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate for head coaching and senior football operations hires.

Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke told Frazier prior to the interview Carroll did not have Seattle's job. Frazier had been unwilling to talk with the Seahawks about the vacancy if Carroll had been promised full control of the Seahawks. Multiple sources indicated to ESPN he had been.

The Seattle Seahawks are one of the moribund NFL franchises with declining attendance in a sagging economy. Hiring a west coast, marquee name like Pete Carroll provides instant credibility and injects much needed life into the northwest NFL fan base. Pete Carroll, by every account, was their man from the beginning. Granting a feigned interview to Leslie Frazier, merely an outstanding Defensive Coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings who happens to be black, amounts to nothing more than window dressing by the Seahawks and dishonors the legitimate achievements of minorities at all levels of professional sports. But most of all, the Dog and Pony Show dishonors Leslie Frazier as a human being.

Not to be outdone, the Seahawks and the NFL took the charade one step further:

Seattle also contacted the agent for Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, but as of Saturday morning, nothing had been set up. An interview with Rivera also would satisfy the Rooney Rule.

But the bottom line is, Carroll's agreement with Seattle is "100 percent done," one NFL source close to the situation told Schefter.

The NFL and the Seattle Seahawks, in their haste to give the outward appearance of hiring diversity, gave token consideration to two highly regarded NFL defensive coordinators who more importantly met an imposed racial quota. The Seahawks undoubtedly had no real intention of hiring either coach while they were wooing Carroll in earnest. It was "Carroll or bust."

Sports offer myriad lessons to athlete and fan alike. In this regrettable case, the NFL has demonstrated in plain view the futility of affirmative action and social engineering. In doing so, this fading American institution - the same one who would not suffer Rush Limbaugh as a prospective owner - has done a huge disservice to Leslie Frazier and Ron Rivera, as neither man were likely interested in "courtesy dates."