Quote Originally Posted by kingnat
I saw the same (or very similar) piece on ESPN about the A&M hire of Mike Sherman, and the sub-sequent protest of the Black Coaches Association. They THEN discussed Nebraska's possibility of hiring Turner Gill as the next head coach.

Although it really hasn't come up much on this board, I am a die-hard Nebraska fan, and for those unaware Turner Gill is a legacy in Nebraska. I'm very excited about the possibilities about either he or Bo Pelini being the new head coach (I've pretty much been in misery from the INSTANT Frank Solich was fired 4 years ago... it's not just about the losing...). I guess upon watching the ESPN spot, I was pleasantly surprised that at that point was the first time I had considered the fact that Turner Gill was black. It didn't even enter my mind...

This really struck me personally as a negative result of the Rooney rule... why is it necessary to shove it in my face that Turner Gill is black. Does that change the way he coaches... I certainly don't believe so. But I think there is at least anecdotal evidence that the hiring of black coaches is an institutional problem (where hires are more likely made on connections than qualifications....); If we consider the number of HC hires since the start of the Rooney rule and broke down the ratio of hires in terms of skin color, I think the ratio would be dramatically different than the ratio before the Rooney rule. Does this make sense?

Maybe I'll pose a question: Do you believe the number of black HCs in the NFL would be more than, less then or equal to the number there are today without the Rooney rule in place?
i think it would be the exact same, +/- 1