Coach Brian Flores Hired by Steelers; Falcons Owner Arthur Blank On NFL Diversity

Arthur Blank pledges to do more for minority candidates in coaching and front office openings

The NFL remains at a crossroads when it comes to diversity. Following the hirings of Lovie Smith with the Houston Texans and Mike McDaniel with the Miami Dolphins, the NFL features five minority head coaches in a league made up 70 percent Black players. 

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank addressed that disparity Wednesday from Los Angeles, site of Sunday's Super Bowl.

“We have failed when it comes to (hiring Black) head coaches,” Blank said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’ve not made the kind of progress that we would like to see. So, I think what the commissioner (Roger Goodell) said ... is accurate. We’re going to have to take apart all pieces of the puzzles and examine every piece and make sure that we are doing all of this correctly.” 

A centerpiece of the issue is the lawsuit filed by Brian Flores accusing the league of racist practices in its hiring habits. On Saturday, Flores was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as their senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach.

"I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "Brian's resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team."

Blank has served on the Rooney Rule committee ever since it was implemented in 2003. The rule states that team must interview at least one minority candidate for the open position before making a hire. 

The league has attempted to tweak the rule on more than one occasion in order to help with the hirings of more Black and minority candidates. In the past two hiring cycles, only four minority candidates have been hired to be a head coach. 

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"We believe in diversity," Commissioner Goodell said during his news conference outside SoFi Stadium on Wednesday. "We believe it has made us stronger. People who have come into the league who are diverse have been very successful and made us better, and we just have to do a better job. 

"I think we have to continue to look and find and step back and say, 'We're not doing a good enough job here.' We need to find better solutions and better outcomes."

Pittsburgh's Tomlin started the coaching cycle search as the only Black head coach in the league. The Washington Commanders' Ron Rivera is Hispanic, while New York Jets' Robert Saleh is Lebanese-American.

Under Blank's ownership, the Falcons have never hired a full-time Black head coach. Following the firing of Dan Quinn, Atlanta named defensive coordinator Raheem Morris the interim coach for the remainder of the 2020 season. The Falcons considered Morris a candidate before the job ultimately when to Arthur Smith. 

Atlanta did, however, hire Terry Fontenot as its general manager following the firing of Thomas Dimitroff.  

Blank said that he will "roll up his sleeves" to make sure there are more opportunities for minority candidates to be head coaches and take larger roles in the front office. 

“At the end of the day, you cannot have a situation where you have three Black coaches in the NFL out of 32 franchises where you have 70 percent-plus of your players are African-American,” Blank said. “It’s not a defendable position.”