When the Rooney Rule was implemented in 2003, there were three African-American head coaches, one general manager and zero majority owners. In 2020, there are three African-American head coaches, one general managers and zero majority owners.

“We’re obviously using the Rooney Rule for the head coaching candidates, but I think we may have to use the rule for the feeder positions, especially on the offensive side of the ball because that’s where so many of the head coaches come from," said John Mara. "We talked in December on the Workplace Diversity Committee about feeding the pipeline further. I can tell you: This is a real concern of the commissioner and the league.”

“So much of this is about introducing young coaches a head coach or owner wouldn’t know to a new group of influencers,” one club president told me last week.