How Much Do Coach Agents Influence An NFL Team’s Leadership?

For years, the NFL has been trying to make the hiring of people of color in leadership positions a more fair and more equitable process.

Through initiatives like accelerator programs meant to introduce prospects to owners and other people with hiring ability, alongside the widely controversial Rooney Rule which literally mandates that people of all backgrounds get interviews, the league has been marginally successful at changing who is in the room when it comes to coordinators, head coaches, and general managers.

Today ESPN senior NFL writer Kalyn Kahler reports on a new speed bump in the road: the trend of "package deals," whereby an agent places multiple clients in coaching or front office roles with the same team.

She details her reporting on where this practice comes from, why it’s hurting the prospects of minorities to get these jobs and what, if anything, the NFL can do to fight against it.

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