Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores brought a major issue in the NFL to the forefront of sports news when he announced back in February that he is suing the NFL for racial discrimination in their hiring process.
Ever since the lawsuit was announced, Flores has gotten very little public support from those in positions of power for obvious reasons.
That was until last Tuesday, where Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll reportedly spoke up about the issue at league meetings with NFL owners in attendance.
Carroll delivered a “passionate speech” regarding the league’s struggle to achieve diversity amongst NFL coaches.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter discussed the topic on Monday on his podcast, saying that he was told by one source that Carroll “just went off” about the issue, saying that until owners get to know their candidates before the interview and understand that they have to hire candidates that are “different from them” that nothing will change.
This obviously was not taken well by the owners. They reportedly were upset that they were directly challenged by Carroll and pushed back against his comments.
Some owners reportedly pointed out privately that Carroll himself does not have the best track record when it comes to hiring minority coaches on his staff, hiring no African-American offensive coordinators during his tenure in Seattle.
This is similar to the situation of Colin Kaepernick eyeing a return to the NFL.
Carroll has said that he regrets not signing Kaepernick in the past when he was seemingly blackballed by other NFL teams, yet took no action to be the one to bring him in.
He has now spoken out in support of the issue that Flores has raised, yet he has not hired a person of color to his offensive staff in his time with the Seahawks.
While Carroll’s sentiment on the topic is right, and that the issue mostly falls on NFL ownership, he certainly seems a little hypocritical considering his actions as an NFL coach to this point.
[Pro Football Talk, Adam Schefter Podcast]
