I would focus on building from the bottom up. For the front office positions most of these guys start off as a scout of some sort right? Make sure your new scouts are a diverse group. I'd do that by heavily hiring former players. Players as a group I believe are 70% minority and it makes sense to hire scouts that know the game. Get more diversity in your scouting department and eventually the cream rises to the top.
For coaching same thing. By my count only 23% of coordinator positions were minority last year. Most of those guys are going to be your next HC's. 23% isn't reflective of the league. So start getting those position coaches and quality control jobs and build up from there. Figure out why more minorities aren't going into entry level jobs and help remove barriers. Higher pay for entry level jobs. More outreach, etc. Put more into the pipeline and it rises to the top.
I think the pressure they're applying through the media is GREAT. Everyone knows there is one black HC in the league right now and the NFL is catching flak for it. That's really good. Maybe put out a report every year that lists the percentage of minorities in an organization and list it top to bottom. Publicize the shit out of it. I don't think any organization would want to be stuck at the bottom of that list for several straight years. Embarrass the hell out of the worst offenders.
There really isn't a silver bullet here IMO. I agree it's a problem. It's something I want solved. I am open to any solution that doesn't assign different values to skin color.
The bottom up needs to happen for both coaching and FO roles, and has been pointed out is happening, but not succeeding. One of the reasons this approach doesn't work is because the same type of people are still doing the interviews and making the hiring decisions. Until a more diverse group of people are in positions to interview and hire, not much is going to change. Not all of that is racism, but unconscious bias is a real thing.
Top down changes need to happen, as well as bottom up development programs. You are on to something with publishing diversity stats and naming and shaming, but actions need to also be applied. The NFL themselves should be putting together interview panels, recommended candidate pools(this is done to a degree), and I know people are going to roll their eyes hard, but unconscious bias and diversity training should be mandatory for coaches and front office roles. When done right, this stuff is eye opening and they should be doing together across teams.
The NFL needs to step in as an HR oversight to encourage the right candidates are coming through and the interview panels are in a position to properly evaluate candidates. It took corporate America a long time to recognize these things, but some changes are slowly starting to happen and there is measurable benefit being discovered.
It would also be helpful if the clown in charge of the NFL wasn't working only at the interest of the owners, who as we all know don't want any of their dirty laundry out in the public, so Goodell's real job #1 is making sure the owners are clean.
Let's face it, the owners obviously don't really care about this issue.
