SportsPulse: NFL insider Lindsay H. Jones on how Jon Gruden's decision to return to the Oakland Raiders could reinvigorate the franchise and get Derek Carr back to MVP form. USA TODAY Sports
One million dollars, plus the loss of a first-round draft pick.
That’s the type of penalty Roger Goodell needs to be ready to levy on Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis for violating the Rooney Rule in luring Jon Gruden out of the Monday Night Football booth.
OK, maybe that’s not harsh enough.
Davis, who pursued Coach Chucky for six years, admitted to reporters after officially announcing the triumphant return Tuesday that they reached an agreement in principle on Christmas Eve — a week before previous coach Jack Del Rio was dumped.
To “comply” with the Rooney Rule that mandates teams must interview at least one minority candidate for head coach openings, the Raiders interviewed their tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin — apparently after the deal was struck with Gruden.
The Fritz Pollard Alliance (FPA), which promotes and monitors minority hiring in the NFL, is pushing the league to launch an investigation that conclusively establishes the timeline.
“It has all the appearances of a violation,” Cyrus Mehri, general counsel for the FPA, told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday night. “But like any case in America, you want to give people a chance to tell their side of the story.”
Davis’ own words seemingly confirmed what was widely speculated, that the Raiders made a mockery of the Rooney Rule.
Now there needs to be a steep price to pay — especially if Goodell wants to maintain at least one shred of credibility attached to the NFL’s way of doing business.
More: Fritz Pollard Alliance asks whether Raiders violated Rooney Rule hiring Gruden
More: Solving mystery of why Gruden returned to coaching
More: Energized Gruden embraces second turn with Raiders
What good is it to have a Rooney Rule — which has frequently come under attack from those suspecting that some interviews with minority candidates are not legitimate — without any teeth in enforcing that the spirit of the rule is upheld?
Goodell needs to bring the hammer and send a strong message that demonstrates the NFL is paying more than lip service to the notion of equal opportunity.
Since the Rooney Rule was instituted in 2003, only one league executive has been disciplined for non-compliance: Matt Millen. The former Detroit Lions president didn’t interview a minority candidate before hiring Steve Mariucci. Millen had an interview lined up with then-Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, but he pulled out after Millen told him it was a formality and that he was set to hire Mariucci.
Millen was fined $200,000 by then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who apparently warned teams that the floor for further violations would be $500,000.
So this looms as Goodell’s first potential Rooney Rule discipline case, and I’m thinking he needs to operate in today’s dollars. The $1 million, plus draft pick penalty, would be in the ballpark of what Goodell levied on the New England Patriots for Deflategate. Nothing gets the wake-up call attention of NFL teams like forfeiting a premium pick. Besides, after committing $100 million to Chucky over 10 years, $1 million looks like a cost-of-living bonus.
Gruden was Davis’ man all along. I’m not suggesting Davis should not have gone after the charismatic coach who's already revived the franchise once and certainly will energize the Raider Nation again. Yet there’s a way this could have still been accomplished to maintain the credibility of the Rooney Rule.
Think of the Philadelphia Eagles’ pursuit of Chip Kelly a few years ago. Kelly was believed to be the clear target, but the Eagles conducted an exhaustive search that included at least a half-dozen candidates ... just in case.
And here’s another issue: Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie said that he — and not Davis — interviewed Johnson and Martin. That poses an imbalance with guidelines for adhering to the Rooney Rule that call for the interviews to be conducted on a similar level with the decision makers.
In other words, sham interviews.
Last week, FPA chairman John Wooten told USA TODAY Sports that he didn’t have an issue with Gruden's hiring, in part because he trusted the integrity of McKenzie and Davis.
That FPA stance changed, though, with reports of Davis’ admission about Christmas Eve.
It’s ironic that the Raiders, of all teams, are being scrutinized. Historically, they have been a beacon for equal opportunity, led by Mark’s Pro Football Hall of Fame father, the late Al Davis. He hired Art Shell as the first African-American head coach of the modern era, then years later re-hired him to the same post. Al Davis won two Super Bowls with a Hispanic coach, Tom Flores, and made former chief executive Amy Trask (aka “The Princess of Darkness”) one of the highest-ranking women in the NFL.
Mark Davis has followed suit in entrusting McKenzie, an African-American, as the football savant who restored the franchise from salary cap jail.
“There is no other franchise with a better record on diversity and equal opportunity in the history of the NFL than the Raiders,” Mehri said. “Al Davis was so far-sighted on these issues.”
Al Davis — who traded Gruden to Tampa Bay for two first-round picks, two second-round picks and $8 million in 2002 — surely would have handled this fresh “search” a bit differently.
As it stands now, the cost for bringing Gruden back isn't quite complete.
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Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell
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