The NFL's hiring rule aimed at promoting diversity continues to work, according to the leaders of the group charged with enforcing it. The leaders of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, named for the first African American coach in NFL history, said they don't think the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins improperly circumvented the rule that requires teams with head coaching vacancies to interview at least one minority candidate.
"I don't have the slightest thought that either team skirted the rule in any way," said John Wooten, the chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance.
Some observers have criticized the coaching searches conducted by the Redskins and Seahawks and questioned whether the interviewing rule -- widely known as the Rooney Rule after Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, the chairman of the NFL's workplace diversity committee -- worked properly in those cases.
The Redskins hired Mike Shanahan, a former two-time Super Bowl-winning coach for the Denver Broncos, .