I will probably be roasted for this, since everyone is so touchy on topics like this.
Do I think the NFL is racist? No. Do I think there are likely racist people in the NFL? Yes. Do I think the hiring process is inherently racist? No, but I bet it is incredibly rife with biases.
Let me explain my last point. The amount of people that can afford to be a majority owner in a NFL franchise is incredibly small. Those people usually are born into ownership (Bidwills, Hunts, Halas/McKaskey's, etc.) or have been unusually successful in business (also many times being aided by birth). Either way, they have come to age in their professional lives in MAJOR money making organizations. I have yet to find any organization that has that much clout, money and exclusivity that does not come with a great deal of hubris and politics. So I am not surprised when I read something like the lawsuit. Most of the owners set their organization up to be mirrors of what they have known. Most also view this as an investment and/or a way to keep their family insanely wealthy. For most, it has nothing to do with sport.
What can you do to fix it? Well, that is where this gets interesting. I have always thought that they way to get through to these types of people are incentives. They want their product to generate them more wealth. That usually comes with greater success. So what I would do is I would award teams who hire minority coaches / executives with 3rd/4th round picks for three consecutive years (round depends on the position within the team organization, assumes said hire is around for 3 years). This will last until a predefined ratio is achieved (for example, number of HC's / GM's). IT will cycle on and off as needed. This would replace the existing rule that awards picks to teams that LOSE minority coaches to HC positions for two years of draft picks.
It always struck me as odd that the current rule rewarded the people who failed to promote minority candidates. Fix that and incentivize people to hire. Those draft picks can really help teams and provide a better product for the owners. At this point, there is no reason for any owner to seek out diversity.
