The New England Patriots recently hired Mike Vrabel as their next head coach, shortly after dismissing Jerod Mayo following the conclusion of the 2024 regular season. However, they garnered criticism for the way they conducted the hiring process involving the Rooney Rule, according to a former general manager.
TMZ Sports published an exclusive interview with Rod Graves. Graves spent decades working in the NFL across multiple positions but mainly as a league executive and general manager. He now works at the Fritz Pollard Alliance as the Executive Director, which is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion throughout professional football.
He did not like the approach Patriots owner Robert Kraft took in the hiring process. Kraft interviewed two black candidates, specifically Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich, before proceeding to hire Vrabel. The former Tennessee Titans coach was rumored to have been the team’s first pick before the season came to an end, prompting criticism from Graves.
“It certainly can be debated as to whether or not they went through a fair Rooney rule process in hiring Mike Vrabel,” Graves told TMZ Sports while adding he fully understands the former Titans coach has “all the credentials necessary for taking that job.”
“Whether or not [Pep and Byron] were actually given a serious interview, I don’t happen to believe that that was the case. And so if you look at it from that standpoint, it was really to make somewhat of a mockery of the process when Mike Vrabel was their intention all along.”
Why the Rooney Rule has a negative stigma despite its original intention
The Rooney Rule has a long history of controversy since it was first enforced in the early 2000s.
The most well-known event before the Patriots’ hiring of Vrabel involved Brian Flores. Following his dismissal from the Miami Dolphins after the end of the 2021 season, Flores sued the Dolphins, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos for alleged racism, violations of federal employment law, and that his interviews were a sham meant solely to fulfill the Rooney Rule. The NFL went on to make changes to the Rooney Rule in 2022, requiring all teams to have a minimum number of people in the minority on staff.
Despite his gripes with how the rule is approached by NFL teams, Graves understands why the rule is there and hopes that NFL owners learn to utilize it in a better fashion moving forward.
“I believe in the spirit of the rule, number one, and I appreciate that the rule exists. I, for one, advocate that it should always be there. I think the challenge will be making sure that owners recognize ultimately what we’re trying to achieve.”
