Liam Coen’s secret pursuit helped Jaguars comply with Rooney Rule

The Jaguars’ recruitment of Liam Coen really feels like a Coen Brothers movie.

Beyond the impact of a Side deal inapplicable Because his new contract with the Buccaneers was contingent on Coen not going to Jacksonville for an in-person interview, the Jaguars benefited from Coen making a secret trip to Duval County.

As explained by SI.com’s Albert Breer, the Jaguars had to interview another minority candidate in person – Patrick Graham – in order to comply with the Rooney Rule. Wrote Breer: “(T)he Jags didn’t want word of their plans to get out, which could cause Graham to be canceled. “

Although it is unclear whether Graham would have canceled if he had known Coen remained in play, Breer’s implication is that the Jaguars were hoping to keep Coen’s pending recruitment a secret to ensure Graham would not decline No submitting to an in-person interview. Had he done so, the Jaguars would have had to delay hiring Coen until the Jaguars had conducted an in-person interview with another minority candidate.

The only other minority candidate who conducted a virtual interview with the Jaguars was Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Given that he has active litigation against the league regarding its minority hiring practices, checking the last box with Flores would have opened an entirely different can of worms, for the team and the league.

In the end, it worked. The Jaguars conducted in-person interviews with Robert Saleh and Patrick Graham. Rooney’s letter of rule was satisfied.

Even though the Jaguars had no intention of hiring Graham when they conducted his in-person interview.

This isn’t the only team that has seemingly set the language of the rule on its mind in the current cycle. The Patriots experienced in-person interviews with Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton before hiring Mike Vrabel. And the Bears conducted an in-person interview with Eddie George the day after the Lions’ season ended, paving the way to hire offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

It all comes at a time when the new administration has taken a very aggressive stance against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace and it seems inevitable that a soundbite or social media post will target the The NFL’s ongoing effort to reverse a history of hiring practices that have worked to the disadvantage of minority candidates.