Former Super Bowl champion and current ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark criticized the New England Patriots for the way they complied with the Rooney Rule during their head coaching search.
The NFL’s Rooney Rule, which was created by the NFL’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee in 2003, requires each team with a head coaching vacancy to interview at least two diverse candidates for the position. The rule was expanded in 2022 to include interviews with women as part of the “minority candidate definition.”
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Mike Vrabel of the Tennessee Titans on the field before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Nissan Stadium on December 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The Patriots hired Mike Vrabel as their next coach about a week after firing Jerod Mayo. The team interviewed Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich to comply with the Rooney Rule – all before the end of the playoffs.
“I think it highlights the Rooney Rule, which I think the New England Patriots made a mockery of,” Clark said Thursday on “Inside the NFL.” “To interview Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich, two coaches who aren’t even in football right now, just to fill a quota.
“The Rooney Rule was put in place so that some of these minority coaches could have the opportunity to get in front of some of the management and some of these owners, who were really looking to give the job to the best person. Now I want Be clear: I believe we have reached a point where organizations will hire the best person they feel is best for the job, but let’s not make coaches, who have worked their whole lives for this opportunity, a token interview.
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November 4, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri: Broadcaster Ryan Clark before a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images)
“I think a better solution would be for teams that want to ignore the Rooney Rule, like the New England Patriots probably would have done, because they wanted Mike Vrabel to allow them to hire someone at the lower level who reports directly to the head coach, reports directly to the offensive coordinator, so they can benefit from some of that tutelage that allows their resume and their career to grow.
“Let’s stop with the bullshit interviews just to say that we did what the Rooney Rule was supposed to do. When it was initially implemented, I believe it worked. It has now run its course and become something which is a joke to the NFL and NFL coaches and, more importantly, the people the NFL was supposed to help.”
Vrabel has a long history with the Patriots, having won three Super Bowl titles with the team during his playing career.
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel smiles as he poses with team owner Robert Kraft, right, during an availability Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
He began his coaching career with the Tennessee Titans in 2018. He had a 54-45 record with the Titans and led them to three playoff appearances, including an appearance in the AFC Championship.
