Roger Goodell dissects NFL's diversity efforts - "It's never enough"

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell held a 'State of the League' press conference on Wednesday, four days before Super Bowl LVII gets underway in Arizona. The commissioner discussed a wide array of topics, from the league's officiating to flexing primetime games and diversity inside the NFL.

With the current hiring cycle seeing DeMeco Ryans take over as the head coach of the Houston Texans, plus a ton of other names getting (real) interviews to be head coaches, the commissioner was asked about the NFL's efforts to promote diversity within the league.

He was complimentary about the work done by the league over the last year but made it clear that there's still a way to go.

"I still feel like there is more and better work ahead of us. There is progress - and we're pleased to see progress. But it's never enough."

Goodell was asked the same question a year ago in light of Brian Flores' lawsuit against the Miami Dolphins and the league, but it's fair to acknowledge that there's been some sensible progress in the way minority coaches are getting interviews in the current hiring cycle.

The league currently has six minority head coaches. Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), and DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans) are black; plus, Ron Rivera (Washington Commanders) is Hispanic, Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins) is biracial and Robert Saleh (New York Jets) is of Lebanese heritage.

Teams are obliged to interview ethnic-minority coaches during their hiring cycle because of the Rooney Rule.

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What's the Rooney Rule? Roger Goodell praises league efforts to promote diversity

It's an NFL policy instituted in 2003 that requires NFL teams with a head coach vacancy to interview at least one candidate of a minority ethnicity before making an official hire.

The rule is named after Dan Rooney, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers who died in 2017. He was a major figure in the league's history, helping to promote diversity at all levels within the Steelers and the league.

It's clear that the Rooney Rule is not the solution for all NFL problems regarding diversity, but it was fantastic to be instituted. As Roger Goodell said, progress is never enough.