ART ROONEY II

Part of the league's diversity initiative now requires all 32 teams to hire a female or minority applicant for offensive assistant coaching positions.

Part of the league's diversity initiative now requires all 32 teams to hire a female or minority applicant for offensive assistant coaching positions.

Beginning this season, all 32 clubs must employ a female or a member of an ethnic or racial minority to serve as an offensive assistant coach. The person will receive a one-year contract and work closely with the head coach and offensive staff to gain experience. In recent years, head coaches have predominantly had offensive backgrounds. Overall, including women in all Rooney Rule requirements is designed to address under-representation of women in key football positions. There currently are five minority head coaches in the NFL.

NEW YORK — (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a few team owners and executives met Thursday with civil rights leaders, who urged the league to make drastic changes to its hiring practices to improve diversity in leadership positions. National Urban League president and CEO Marc H. Morial told the group the NFL's focus on racial equity and social justice recently hasn't yet resulted in improved hiring procedures for the league's head coaches. The civil rights leaders challenged the league to set measurable goals for recruiting and hiring diverse candidates. The meeting Thursday was a continuation of a discussion that began last week, when the civil rights leaders called for the NFL's to replace the Rooney Rule. It was established in 2003 and requires teams to interview candidates of color for head coaching and senior football operation positions.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a few team owners and executives met with civil rights leaders who urged the league to make drastic changes to its hiring practices to improve diversity in leadership positions.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman and broadcaster Tunch Ilkin has died.

Troy Vincent wrapped up the NFL’s three-day General Manager Forum and Quarterback Coaching Summit with a passionate plea to anyone who still thinks there aren’t worthy Black candidates for head coaching positions.

The NFL is holding its inaugural General Manager Forum next week in an effort to increase minority hiring in front offices.

Mike Tomlin is sticking with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

FILE - Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger celebrates a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the first half of an NFL football game in Nashville, in this Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, file photo. Ben Roethlisberger is returning for an 18th season with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is taking a pay cut to do it. The team and the two-time Super Bowl winner announced on Thursday, March 4, 2021, they have agreed on a new contract that assures the 39-year-old will be back in 2021. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen, File)PITTSBURGH – Ben Roethlisberger is returning for an 18th season with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is taking a pay cut to do it. NFL Network, citing anonymous sources, said Roethlisberger's new deal will essentially pay him $14 million this season and adds four voidable years to spread out the dead money.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Cleveland Browns in Pittsburgh, late Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Don Wright)PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers plan on having quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back for an 18th season. Team president Art Rooney II released a statement Wednesday saying he and Roethlisberger have met to figure out a way to ease the financial pressure caused by Roethlisberger's contract. The Steelers are facing a serious cap crunch and have already started to overhaul the coaching staff and the roster. AdStill, Rooney expressed optimism the door for the Steelers to remain competitive during Roethlisberger's long tenure remains open.

(AP Photo)The NFL expanded the Rooney Rule to give more minority candidates opportunities to become a head coach and reward teams who develop them. The Houston Texans hired David Culley this week, making the 65-year-old longtime assistant the league’s third Black head coach hired. Culley and Saleh join Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Miami’s Brian Flores and Washington’s Ron Rivera as the league’s only minority head coaches. “We didn’t make as much progress on the head coaching side as we would have liked,” Rooney said. AdPerhaps an increase in minority executives will lead to more minority head coaches.

New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold warms up during a practice at the NFL football team's training camp in Florham Park, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. Instead of taking the field, the entire team spent more than four hours talking about racial injustice and social issues. They continued their discussions Friday, an off day, to begin devising plans to effect change among each other and in the community. Tomlin, one of three Black NFL head coaches, is the third-longest tenured coach in the league. We have to continue playing because, quite frankly, this is the reason we have a platform, is because we play football and we are in the NFL, Darnold said.

The biggest takeaway following the NFL's two-day quarterback coaching summit aimed at improving the league's diversity, is that there's no shortage of qualified minority candidates waiting for opportunities to be head coaches and coordinators. (Rob Maaddi/Zoom via AP)The biggest takeaway following the NFLs two-day quarterback coaching summit is theres no shortage of qualified minority candidates waiting for opportunities to be head coaches and coordinators. It becomes reality when the people respond to it.After the 2018 season, eight head coaches lost their jobs. That makes four minority head coaches out of a possible 32 in the league. The NFL amended the Rooney Rule last month to require more interviews of minority candidates for head coaching and coordinator positions.

Among the new guidelines adopted, NFL clubs will now be required to interview two minority candidates for head coaching positions, at least one minority candidate for coordinator vacancies and one external candidate for front-office positions. League officials attempted to incentivize team owners to hire minority candidates by offering compensatory draft picks. The NFL will also improve its "pipeline for minority coaching and player personnel candidates" with assistance from its Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship. Rooney said the changes would help minority candidates receive "fair and equitable" opportunities to "advance throughout our football operations." Rooney added the changes are "important steps" to ensure NFL teams "come to reflect the true diversity of our fans and our country."

Wide Receivers coach Darryl Drake of the Arizona Cardinals during the NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at the University of Phoenix Stadium on September 13, 2015, in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)(CNN) - Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver coach Darryl Drake has died, team officials said Sunday. "Darryl had such an impact on the players he coached and everyone he worked with throughout his entire career," Rooney said. "He was an amazing husband, father and grandfather, and it is difficult to put into words the grief our entire team is going through right now." Drake joined the team in January 2018 after serving as wide receivers coach for the Arizona Cardinals from 2013 to 2017 and the Chicago Bears from 2004 to 2012, according to the team's website.