NFL owners approve proposal to move in-person head coaching interviews to after Divisional Round

NFL owners unanimously approved a proposal to push in-person head coaching interviews with candidates employed by NFL teams until after the Divisional Round of the playoffs has been completed, Senior National Columnist Judy Battista reported on Tuesday from the Fall League Meeting in New York.

The hope, Battista added, is that by delaying when in-person interviews can take place it will slow the hiring process and thereby lead to owners taking a broader — and potentially more diverse — look at candidates.

Steelers president Art Rooney II, chairman of the league’s diversity committee, told reporters on Tuesday that the average time to hire a new head coach is 26 days, which is up from 13 days a few years ago, per Battista. That underscores the onus on slowing down the hiring cycle as one of the goals to improve diversity for candidates and hires.

The official head coach interview resolution’s anti-tampering policy as announced by the league reads as follows:

“Prohibit clubs from conducting in-person Head Coach interviews with candidates who are employed by other NFL clubs until after the conclusion of all Divisional Playoff games. Prior to the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games, hiring clubs are permitted to conduct in-person Head Coach interviews with candidates who are employed by the hiring club or who are not employed in the NFL.”

During the 2023 hiring cycle, no-in person interviews were permitted until after the Super Wild Card Weekend. So, the process will effectively be pushed back by a week for the 2024 cycle.

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