"He would’ve been fired" - Stephen A. Smith believes Mike Tomlin would've been axed long ago if he were not in Pittsburgh 

Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin remains the lone African American head coach in the league. Tomlin was hired by the Steelers in 2007 and has continued to bring a proven level of success and tradition that the organization has built itself upon.

But ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith believes, if Tomlin played for another organization besides the Pittsburgh Steelers, he would have been fired years ago. Even though his coaching resume says otherwise.

“Mike Tomlin was not in Pittsburgh because the Rooney family authored it. That's why it's the Rooney Rule because they will push for that a long time. If he were any place other than Pittsburgh, would Mike Tomlin be a head coach in the NFL right now? He would’ve been fired. Mike Tomlin would have been gone because he's been on the hot seat before. He had no business being on the hot seat. But he'd been on it. I believe. That's how, I’m just using him, who is a winner in my mind. One of the best coaches in the NFL. I think a future Hall of Famer. Fifteen years, never a single losing season in his coaching career. And Mike Tomlin, one could easily argue, if he were not in Pittsburgh, he would have lost his job already, too. And you have 32 owners, at least 31 of them, that appear to have no problem with this whatsoever. And I understand your individual team in your eyes. The league's problem shouldn't be your problem. That's why before you do anything, you got to get to 31 owners and the reason I say 31 instead of 32, is for those that don't know, Shad Khan, Pakistan from Pakistan, he's the guy that owns the Jacksonville Jaguars. So he's not one of those white owners. But I think all of them need to be brought in the room, and literally shown and reminded of this situation, how egregious it is. And then collectively, look, this is our mission as a league. What are you going to do about it? And don't get me wrong? I'm not saying the players don't need to speak up please, players gotta speak up. It's necessary. And white players need to speak up, too, because of how egregious it is.”-Stephen A. Smith First Take

What is the Rooney Rule?

The lack of minority coaches in the National Football League has always been a topic of conversation. With eight head coaching vacancies in the National Football League this year, and over half already being filled, no additional minority head coaches have been added to the league.

The "Rooney Rule" ,which is now under immense scrutiny, was created to help the National Football League be more inclusive. Established in 2003, it was originally stated that every team had to interview, at least, one minority candidate for their vacant head coach positions.

The "Rooney Rule" was amended in 2009. The amendment required teams to interview, at least, one minority for their vacant front office positions as well. In 2021, the rule was amended again, this time, to include women. Therefore, women must now be interviewed for top-level front office positions.

But according to former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, teams only follow the 'Rooney Rule' and interview minority candidates, but never really consider them for the roles. Even though it was created to help minority coaches have a better chance at being hired, its implementation has been brought under the scanner in light of recent events.

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