N.F.L. Expresses Disappointment With Lack of Diversity in Hires When Bruce Arians was hired by the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, the N.F.L.'s coaching carousel stopped spinning and a specific reality became clear: none of the eight head coach openings this off-season was filled by a minority candidate. When the Jets hire a general manager - they are the last team left with a front-office opening - minority candidates are likely to be shut out of the top football executive jobs, too. On Friday, the N.F.L. said it was working on changes to the league's Rooney Rule - which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching and general manager jobs - that it hoped would spur more minority hiring in the future. Last year, with seven head coaching jobs open, just one minority coach - Romeo Crennel in Kansas City - was hired. And Crennel had already been the Chiefs' interim head coach. Crennel was fired this year, after the Chiefs won just two games. "While there has been full compliance with the interview requirements of the Rooney Rule and we wish the new head coaches and general managers much success, the hiring results this year have been unexpected and reflect a disappointing lack of diversity," the statement, by the N.F.L.'s executive vice president of human resources Robert Gulliver, said. The Rooney Rule has been a valuable tool in expanding diversity and inclusion in hiring practices, but there is more work to do, especially around increasing and strengthening the pipeline of diverse candidates for head coach and senior football executive positions.