NFL says all 32 teams must have minority offensive coach this season

The NFL announced on Monday that all 32 teams must have a minority assistant on their offensive staffs for the 2022 season, a new requirement under the league’s Rooney Rule.

The move to specifically address representation on the offensive side of the football is a direct acknowledgment that many of the league’s head coaches have come from the offensive ranks. In the 2022 hiring cycle alone, twice as many coaches (six) came from an offensive background as opposed to defense (three).

The pipeline for minorities on offense is lacking, as Steelers owner Art Rooney II reiterated on Monday.

“We recognize we have seen progress on some fronts,” said Rooney, chairman of the league’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, “but we still have a way to go on other fronts.”

The NFL saw an increase in the number of people of color in all coaching positions from 35% in the 2020 season to 39% last season. There was an all-time high increase in defensive coordinators to 15, up by two; an increase in minority GMs (five to seven), and assistant GMs (three to six).

Teams will receive league funding toward the coach’s salary for up to two years. Overall, including women in all Rooney Rule requirements is designed to address under-representation of women in key football positions. The league believes this will “encourage the further identification and development of women candidates and the ability to provide them additional opportunity to interview for open positions.”

A total of 12 women coaches at the start of the 2021 season was an all-time high. Dasha Smith, the NFL’s chief administrative officer and one of the league’s highest-ranking women, noted that for the first time, a female candidate was interviewed for a general manager’s