ORLANDO, Fla. – The NFL concluded that the Raiders did not violate the Rooney Rule when hiring head coach Jon Gruden. The Fritz Pollard Alliance, which promotes diversity hiring in the NFL, vehemently disagreed.
The Raiders interviewed minority candidates Tee Martin and Bobby Johnson for their head coaching vacancy, well after widespread knowledge owner Mark Davis was bringing Gruden back.
The Raiders obeyed the letter of the Rooney Rule, which demands at least one minority candidate be interviewed for head coach and GM jobs, but many believe they violated its spirit.
That prompted a question to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about whether the Rooney Rule would be re-examined in the future.