© Reuters. NFL: Super Bowl LV Press Conference-Roger Goodell
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he was dissatisfied with this year’s head coach hiring cycle, a year after he pledged to increase diversity at the job. Only one of the league’s head coach vacancies went to a diverse candidate this year, with the New York Jets hiring former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. The league unveiled a plan in November to boost diversity among head coaches and executive staff. “It was not what we expected and it is not what we expect in the future,” Goodell told reporters at his annual state of the League press conference ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs. in Tampa, Florida. “For us, we want to keep looking and see what went well, what went wrong,” he added. “That has to happen with the individual discussions with the candidates – successful and unsuccessful candidates – the clubs, and trying to understand exactly what went well and what went wrong.” It’s not the results we wanted. ”Among the notable slights during the hiring cycle, an annual period during which underperforming teams seek to appoint new leadership, was Eric Bieniemy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator who has now led the team. to two consecutive Super Bowls and was once seen as the leading candidate to lift his head. “I’m not sure there’s an issue where we spend more time working with our owners,” Goodell said. “We want the NFL, our clubs , be more diverse. It’s much broader for us than just head coaches, but head coaches are important. ”
