The NFL has seen six head coaches hired this cycle, and four are coaches of color.
Three of the coaches hired are Black: The Patriots promoted Jerod Mayo; the Raiders promoted Antonio Pierce; and the Falcons hired Raheem Morris.
Dave Canales, hired by the Panthers, is Mexican-American, making him the only Hispanic coach in the NFL.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Canales is believed to be the fifth head coach of Latino descent in NFL history, following Tom Fears, Tom Flores, Ron Rivera and Brian Flores.
The NFL created the Rooney Rule and expanded it with the aim of increasing the number of minorities hired in head coach, General Manager and executive positions. The numbers are improved for 2024.
With Morris, Pierce and Mayo, the NFL now has six Black head coaches. They join Mike Tomlin, Todd Bowles and DeMeco Ryans. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel identifies as multiracial and Jets coach Robert Saleh is Lebanese.
The NFL still has work to do, but it now has nine minority head coaches with the Seahawks and Commanders’ jobs yet to be filled.
The league began each season from 2019-23 with only three head coaches who identify as Black.
