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Former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis didn’t appear to be a fan of the NFL’s recently tabled plan to reward teams for the hiring of minority candidates as head coaches and general managers with draft picks.
Lewis took over the Bengals in 2003. It was the same year the Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and front office jobs, went into effect. He was a defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens before he was the head coach. Lewis departed the Bengals after the 2018 season.
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He told the Baltimore Sun on Wednesday he took offense to the reported incentivized plan.
“It was offensive, definitely offensive,” Lewis said. “It was like having Jim Crow laws.”
While a record number of minority head coaches were hired in 2017, there are only three black head coaches and one Hispanic head coach in the league: Miami Dolphins’ Brian Flores, Los Angeles Chargers’ Anthony Lynn, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, and Washington Redskins’ Ron Rivera.
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“We had come a long way as far as assistant coaches, but we never made any inroads in management," Lewis said. “This will be a plus requiring more than one minority to be interviewed because it will cause them to take a deeper dive. This will allow more minorities more opportunities.”
There are only two minority general managers in the NFL – Dolphins’ Chris Grier and Cleveland Browns’ Andrew Berry. There are two minority NFL team owners -- Jacksonville Jaguars' Shad Khan and Buffalo Bills' Kim Pegula.
With draft picks floated as an incentive, Lewis said it didn’t make sense because no one would want to be in that position.
Former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome told the Baltimore Sun he took the proposal as a positive.
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“Am I concerned about the lack of hiring? Yes, I am. But I fully understand there is a sincere effort to change the hiring process,” he told the newspaper.
The NFL announced earlier in the week changes to the Rooney Rule -- minus the incentives.
According to an original report by the NFL Network, teams will be expected to interview at least two minority candidates not associated with their own team for a potential head coaching vacancy. Also, one minority candidate will need to be interviewed for coordinator positions, as well as high-ranking positions in the front office, including the general manager role.
Fox News' Dan Canova contributed to this report.
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