Ryan Clark, a one-time Super Bowl champion and current ESPN NFL analyst, ripped the New England Patriots for how they complied with the Rooney Rule during their head-coaching search.
The NFL’s Rooney Rule, which was created by the NFL’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee in 2003, requires each team with a head-coaching vacancy to interview at least two or more diverse candidates for the job. The rule expanded in 2022 to include interviews for women as part of the "minority candidate definition."