Oregon University System schools may soon have a new standard for the hiring of all head football coaches, as the state could be the first to implement what has been labeled the Rooney Rule.
The rule, first implemented in the NFL in 2003, requires each NFL team to interview at least one minority candidate for each head coaching vacancy.
It was designed to give minorities, particularly African-Americans, more opportunities to demonstrate their qualifications for head coaching positions, at least at the interview level. It is a profession historically dominated by whites.
Portland State graduate student Sam Sachs has spearheaded the effort behind getting House Bill 3118 to this point, and the bill will be heard by the education committee at 1 p.m. Friday, April 17, in Salem at the Capitol Building.
“Oregon has an opportunity to set the standard and to be the first state to require minority interviewing for head coaching positions in football,” Sachs said. “The bill does not require that anyone gets hired for a head coaching job; it simply requires that the schools in the OUS interview at least one minority candidate.”
According to the Black Coaches Association and the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, of the 120 Division I football coaches in 2008, 112 were white. Over 45 percent of the players at that level were African-American.
Sachs said he was inspired to move forward with the bill, which has been received favorably in the NFL and served as part of the motivation behind the hiring of Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin, who coached the Steelers to a Super Bowl title last season, after Portland State selectively hired Jerry Glanville last season, despite several other candidates showing interest in the job.
“Of course, colleges can hire whomever they want to coach their team, but the bill is intended to even the playing field in an area that has been dominated by whites,” Sachs said.
The bill would not apply to head-coach-in-waiting situations, like the one that transpired this year with Mike Belotti stepping down and Chip Kelly assuming the role of head coach.
Sachs encouraged all who felt passionate about the bill or equal rights to come to Salem on Friday or write a letter of support to their local representative. Letters to the educational committee can be written to Sachs at his Web site, www.thenohatezone.com.