NFL nixed minority offensive asst. mandate in '25
Key takeaways
- He also took credit for the league ending the program to increase minority representation in assistant coaching ranks, a program started in 2022 after former coach Brian Flores sued the league.
- "The NFL now contends -- apparently in response to our letter-that the NFL has 'sunset' this mandate," the letter reads.
- Despite the NFL recently acknowledging the end of the program to Uthmeier, Jonathan Beane, the NFL's senior vice president for league leadership and inclusion, resisted that characterization in an interview in March.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
The NFL ended a mandate that all 32 teams hire a minority coach as an offensive assistant ahead of the 2025 season and not because of recent pressure from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who on Wednesday issued an investigative subpoena to the league over its hiring practices.
Uthmeier, who in March threatened potential civil action against the NFL over the league's Rooney Rule, said Wednesday the NFL had changed diversity language on its website and that it had "capitulated on some of their discriminatory hiring quotas," while arguing the revisions raise new questions about the policy.
He also took credit for the league ending the program to increase minority representation in assistant coaching ranks, a program started in 2022 after former coach Brian Flores sued the league. But ESPN learned of the league ending a mandate for the program this past winter.