Watchdog Alliance Disagrees With NFL On Raiders Coaching Hire

LAS VEGAS, NV - The Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas in two years, entering a new $1.9 billion home led by Jon Gruden, their new $100 million coach. But did the future Las Vegas professional football franchise violate NFL rules in hiring Gruden to lead the new era?

The NFL said "no" on Friday following an investigation into whether or not the team complied with the league's Rooney Rule, which stipulates teams must interview at least one minority head coaching candidate for head coaching positions. But the Fritz Pollard Alliance believes so, alleging that the Raiders overlooked the spirit of the rule.

The NFL announced on Friday that the Raiders did not violate the rule because the Raiders interviewed two minority head coaching candidates -- USC offensive coordinator Tee Martin and Raiders tight ends coach Bobby Johnson. However, Raiders owner Mark Davis alluded to having made his mind up long ago as to who his preference of head coach during Gruden's Jan. 9 introductory press conference.

“When my father passed away and we had the first press conference, I told everyone here that one thing I know is that I don’t know, and that I am going to surround myself with people who do know those things. My vision at that time was Jon Gruden to coach this football team, and Reggie McKenzie to bring in the talent," Davis siad. "It took me six years of chasing Jon, but every trip I made to Tampa Bay, I sat down and saw the work that Jon does every day, starting at 3 a.m. in the morning. Watching film, marking down plays, and saw how much he enjoys it. Over the six years, that passion never waned. He continuously did it, and I continually tried to convince him that he is wasting his time teaching everybody out here how to play football instead of coming back and doing with a football team in the National Football League. And, if he is going to do it, he should do it with the Oakland Raiders. To have him here is the biggest day of my life. To have him be the leader of this organization is going to be phenomenal and I’m excited."

In response to the NFL's conclusion, the Fritz Pollard Alliance -- whose stated mission is to "promote diversity and equality of job opportunity in the coaching, front office and scouting staffs of National Football League ("NFL") teams," -- issued a statement disagreeing with the NFL's conclusion.

“We strongly disagree with the NFL’s conclusion that the Raiders did not violate the Rooney Rule. We believe the facts overwhelmingly point in the other direction. In his enthusiasm to hire Jon Gruden, Raiders’ owner Mark Davis failed to fulfill his obligation under the Rule and should step forward and acknowledge he violated the Rule," a statement issued by the Fritz Pollard Association read.

The alliance said it has requested to meet with the NFL about the matter.

“The NFL broke ground when it created the Rooney Rule, but it made the wrong call in refusing to penalize Mark Davis in this instance. Davis crossed the line, and we are disappointed in the League’s decision. The Rooney Rule and all of the League’s equal opportunity efforts need to be strengthened. We have called for meetings with the League to ensure that a process like this never happens again," the statement read.

Image via Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press