LOWER THE BOOM: Seahawks Make Mockery of Rooney Rule
Jim Mora is finished in Seattle after a disappointing first season as head coach. He stands to collect about $15 million for the three years remaining on his contract. As Bears fans, we all wish the Bears organization had the wherewithal to fire a head coach with big bucks left on his contract, so I admire owner Paul Allen and the Seahawks organization for making a decisive move.
It reminds me that the Bears are a Mom and Pop shop compared to “big boy” NFL organizations. Organizations like the Seahawks, Redskins and Cowboys are like Walmart, Target and other big box stores. Sooner or later, they run the Mom and Pop shops out of business. I could bemoan the state of the Bears all day, but I’ve got a bigger fish to fry.
It’s clear that the Seahawks had a plan when they dismissed Mora. How else could you explain the immediate deal that is being rumored with soon-to-be-former USC coach Pete Carroll? Yup, word out of Seattle is the Carroll is headed to Seattle and much to Bears fans dismay, it’s very likely that he’ll be taking OC Jeremy Bates with him.
The Seahawks just have to navigate a couple of formalities and they should be formally announcing the deal on Monday. The formalities? The Rooney Rule.
In case you don’t know what the Rooney Rule is, it’s quite simple. NFL teams must interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations positions.
So the Seahawks busily set up a Saturday interview with Vikings Defensive Coordinator and former ’85 Bear Leslie Frazier to satisfy the requirements of the rule. They also apparently reached out to another former Bear, Chargers DC Ron Rivera to try to schedule an interview, but he wasn’t buying.
What is the freaking point in scheduling these interviews when the already have a deal in place with Carroll? It’s making a mockery of the rule!
This is not the forum to debate the merits of affirmative action and frankly I’m not the person to be debating it. I’m just a regular white guy who follows football, so it’s not fair for me to get all political on this. The point is, it’s a rule. Don’t laugh in the face of the rule by bringing someone in for an interview when you never intend to hire them.
On my recent visit to Seattle there was no shortage of homeless guys on the street that the Seahawks could have set up for the “interview.” Pick a minority from among them and there you go.
So Seattle Seahawks, don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining and don’t bring in a minority candidate to interview for a position that you’ve already filled!