Well, unfortunately I think the Rooney rule is a bunch of bologna. I think, that in this day and age, a black coach has just as much of a chance to get an interview or coaching position as a white coach...and vise versa.

I think it's degrading to the men of minority who interview for these jobs as just tokens, and the rule is heading in the opposite direction of its intentions. It should be thrown out, and it makes no sense.

I think that's why it'll be removed in a few years. For now and the last few years it's done well, so why be so quick get rid of a good thing. It puts little-known assistants on center stage. The rule is fine for now, eventually it'll be gone. I agree that it's close to being outdated.

I seriously doubt that Lovie Smith or Mike Tomlin received their jobs because of the Rooney Rule. Meanwhile Rooney Rule interviews to coaches like Jim Caldwell, Tim Lewis, Ted Cottrell, Donnie Henderson, Ron Rivera, Maurice Carthon, Jerry Gray and Greg Blache haven't gotten them anywhere. Then again, the idea that any owner would choose someone based on their skin color rather than their perceived ability to win games and make money has always been incomprehensible to me. Instead of the current rule, I would like to see the NFL establish an off-season workshop for assistants of all racial backgrounds that would expose them to the interviewing process and help them to develop their proposals.

I dont think it's conscious thing. But Smith said he probably wouldn't get that interview without the rule. I trust his judgement.

I dont think you get hired because of the rule, but you get an opp. Its up to you then. I agree it will probably be gone in the future.

I didnt mean to imply at all that Lovie and Tomlin got their jobs because of the rule. Both were established, successful coaches with well-known track records and history, though Tomlin's was short because he's so young. But his impact was immediate. Lewis, Gray, and Henderson have all been on-and-off, thats why they didnt get jobs. You cant say Rivera's chances of landing a job haven't gone anywhere because the Super Bowl got in the way. Caldwell is a rising name, Im not sure why Carthon is even mentioned. The rule doesn't mean someone will be picked for the job because of his race, it just means a minority will be interviewed. It's a waste of time to get upset about it, and it's beginning to work for Caldwell just getting his name out there and eventually Rivera is certain to be a head coach.

The notion that someone should be interviewed or considered for job opening, solely based on their skin color, is not a rational idea.

I think this rule implies that the reverse of it is true...it implies that owners and general managers are preconceived to not interviewing candidates based on skin color, i.e. racial discrimination. In a world where it most definitely exists, you would contrarily have to think that people in such standing as owners of NFL franchises are far above it.

Just because someone owns an NFL (or other sports) franchise doesn't make them people of "good standing" either.

Many NFL owners are old school types who were adults who formed their own opinions well before the Civil Rights movement was upon us, so I wouldn't be too quick to expect them to be above any forms of discrimination.

My feeling is if people such as Lovie Smith believe the rule works because it did so for them, I am inclined to trust that judgment.

The idea is to give the person a foot in the door, nothing more, what they do once inside is up to them.

Don't we all remember that the Lions hired Mariucci without adhering to the policy? Where would the Lions be had they interviewed and hired Lovie Smith instead of Mariucci?

I believe the rule is working, so what if guys like Ted Cottrell and Mo Carthon keep getting interviews and no jobs, to me it just means they are not qualified regardless of color.