Here is my column this week for The Washington Post -----
It was certainly a relief, wasn't it, to learn that the Washington Redskins have complied with the NFL's Rooney Rule by interviewing secondary coach Jerry Gray for the job currently filled by his boss, head coach Jim Zorn.
John Wooten, the president of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which is charged with monitoring whether teams comply with the rule requiring that minority candidates be interviewed when an NFL head coaching job is open said his group is satisfied that the Redskins are seriously considering Gray to be the Redskins next head coach.
Really? Did Wooten also try to stay awake on Christmas Eve so he could meet Santa when he came down the chimney?
Gray has as much chance of being the next Redskins coach as Mike Krzyzewski has of being voted Man of the Decade on the campus at the University of Maryland.
Click here to read the rest of the column: Redskins make a mockery of Rooney Rule
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10 comments:
Thank you for addressing this issue. The rule as all know has a very deep meaning and reason for being in place. This is a disgrace in the broader scheme of things and I applaud you for taking all parties to task. R Rillon
Is it just me, or has Jerry Gray received a pass through this. He's not only interviewing for his boss's job behind the boss's back, but is complicit in Snyder's end run around the Rooney Rule, which was created to give minority coaches like him a fair shot at head coaching jobs.
Does anyone believe Gray thought he'd have a real shot at the head job?
The Snyder way is to throw money at any problem. Need a better view of the Potomac? Buy off a park official. Need to get around the Rooney Rule? Pay off a token black coach.
These fans aren't hooked in the gills, they are hooked in the nether regions.
Sorry for this comment, but it's just a pet peeve... I think that you meant to say that the Redskins flouted the Rooney Rule. I agree with your position, and hope that this rule is revisited and tightened up in the near future. Thanks...
Kudos to Whitney! Feinstein is consistently one of my favorite columnists and missing the flaunt/flout distinction is the writer's equivalent of A-Rod not running out a ground ball.
While I agree, wholeheartedly, with virtually all you stated in today's column, there is one thing I must take exception to.
In your closing paragraph, you state that the Redskins always do things the "Redkins way". I beg to differ. There may have been a time that the Redskins indeed did things the "Redskins way". For the past 10 years or so, they have done things "The Danny's way", and there is a difference.
While Snyder today may wear the mantel of "Redskins Owner", he is not "The Redskins" and his "way", to my mind,is not the "Redskins way".
It is too bad that there cannot be some sort of 'popular' means of applying the rule of eminent domain over the Redskins and claiming them as 'belonging' to the community. Not saying that a government body should take over control (heavens forfend!), but perhaps something like the Green Bay Packers situation.
The Rooney rule is totally bogus anyway. It's affirmative action for the NFL...
The truth is there is a limited talent pool in the NFL coaching arena is thin at best. Regardless of black or white there the failure % is about the same.
It's more disappointing that Gary is going along with it so who is to blame here. You can keep to the easy target of Dan Snyder, but lets just face facts. Mike S. is the best choice hands down. Because Cower and Gruden won't go to the skins...
John:
I am not surprised at the fact that Snyder flouted the Rooney Rule and was amazingly inept in doing so. It is illustrative of doing things, as joemac says, "the Danny Way".
The sadness is that the NFL is letting Snyder get away with this mockery. Whether you want to label the Rooney rule affirmative action or "crow jim", an objective observer can't deny that for too many decades the NFL systematically denied head coaching jobs to blacks. How many years was Tony Dungy not interviewed before he got his chance? Those of us who are older can wonder why Emlen Tunnel, Willie Wood, and others never got theirs.
Before I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year, I must ask - How long before Vinnie Cerrato is rehired?
Jim Zorn continues to show his class. I would love to see him give an outgoing interview to John, detailing the disfunction, but I doubt it will happen. Zorn will not want to burn bridges in the league, and he will likely sign a valuable confidentiality agreement on the way out the door.
So, the Danny fumbles (again)... fire the Danny! oops! he's the owner. Must he be shameless as well?
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
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