NFL Dangling Draft Pick Compensation to Encourage Teams to Make Minority Hires is Despicable

The NFL's Rooney Rule came under fire this offseason after Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was passed up for a head coaching gig for the second year in a row despite how qualified he is. After hearing the backlash, the league decided to come up with a solution, and it's as tone-deaf as you could ever imagine.

According to NFL Media's Jim Trotter, team owners are going to vote on a proposition next week that would allow the organization to improve their draft position if they hire a person of color as their head coach or general manager.

In this plan, an NFL organization can move up six spots from where they're slotted to select in the third round if they hire a minority head coach. If the team were to hire a person of color to be their primary football executive, they'd move up 10 spots in the third round. But if they hire a person of color for both positions, they'd be allowed to move up 16 selections.

We get that the NFL is trying to improve the Rooney Rule and give equal opportunities to minority candidates, but this simply isn't the way to do it.

These candidates want to get the job based on their merit and hard work in the league. Being handed a position so an NFL team can improve their draft position is just a total slap in the face.

Just listen to what former Philadelphia Eagles director of pro personnel Louis Riddick had to say about the proposal during his appearance on SportsCenter on Friday.

Insulting is truly the right word for this plan.

Hiring someone for an extra incentive just isn't ethical. If team owners were to approve this proposal, they'd be opening the door to chaos and dysfunction. We can just see the amount of coaches and general managers hired and fired for the sole reason these teams can receive draft benefits.

It's a disgusting plan, and it should be thrown in the trash right now.