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In searching for the successor to Jerod Mayo, the Patriots adhered to the NFL’s Rooney Rule — but one former front office executive is not thrilled with how the process played out.
“[The organization made] a mockery of the process,” said Rod Graves, who now serves as the executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting diversity and equality within the league, in an interview with TMZ Sports.
Graves, who previously was the GM of the Cardinals and senior director of football administration with the Jets, discussed how he believes the Patriots didn’t give proper consideration to the two minority candidates — Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich — who were interviewed for the team’s head coaching vacancy before Mike Vrabel was hired.
“It certainly can be debated as to whether or not [the Patriots] went through a fair ‘Rooney Rule process’ in hiring Mike Vrabel,” Graves told TMZ, referencing the league-wide mandate that teams interview at least two external minority candidates for vacancies to preeminent positions such as head coach and general manager.
While the Patriots did obey the rule, Graves alleges that owner Robert Kraft and company only ever intended to hand the reins to Vrabel, a former linebacker and three-time Super Bowl champion with New England.
As multiple outlets reported during the hiring process reported, Vrabel was viewed as the frontrunner the moment Mayo was canned, and Aaron Glenn, one of the top candidates this cycle, reportedly turned down an interview with the Patriots.
Even the selection of Hamilton and Leftwich seemed poignant and intentional — both are former NFL offensive coordinators, but neither are currently connected to any professional teams.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer previously said New England’s coaching search was coaching search “a sham” and “complete garbage.”
To the surprise of no one, Vrabel — who earned his first professional head coaching stint with the Titans, a job he held for six seasons — was sworn to duty in Foxborough on Monday.
“I recognize that the [Rooney Rule] is a challenge from time to time, having been on the side of hiring and working in the league, especially when there are instances when [an owner knows who they want to hire and have already made a decision],” Graves continued. “[But when] teams opt to forgo a serious interview process … that works against the spirit of the rule.”
The spirit of the rule, as Graves sees it, is much the same as the mission of the Fritz Pollard Alliance: “[Create] fair opportunities for everyone, not just for minorities … to [foster] an open process that fairly considers everyone who is worthy of consideration.”
