The has urged teams for years to hire more minority head coaches.That mi sion finally seems to be paying Yogi Berra Jersey off.Four minority head coaches have been hired this year, including s Raheem Morris, s Jerod Mayo, Antonio Pierce and s Dave Canales, bringing the number of coaches of color entering the 2024 season to nine, the most in league history. and have yet to fill their vacancies.Dr. Richard Lapchick, founder of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics In Sport, called it a "major milestone" for the NFL.ADVERTISEMENT "The league has been struggling to raise the percentage of head coaches of color, particularly Black head coaches," Lapchick told The A sociated Pre s. "The NFL has worked hard to put programs in place to make this happen and the rewards have finally come home."The NFL originally created the Rooney Rule in 2003 to promote the number of minority head coaches (and later general managers and executives) by requiring teams to interview at least one person of color before making a hire.The league further expanded the rule in 2020, incentivizing teams to hire minority a sistant coaches by awarding compensatory draft picks if they lose a minority coach or top football executive to another team. NFL rules stipulate teams receive third-round selections in each of the next two drafts or each of the next three drafts if two minority employees are hired by another team providing the candidates were with the team Zach Britton Jersey for at least two years.So, while the will receive two third-rounders for losing Morris to the Falcons, the will not get any, since Canales was only with the organization for one season."I'm very pleased at what is happening around the league Alex Rodriguez Jersey ," said Ron Rivera, who is Hispanic and a former head coach in Carolina and Washington. "I think when you have to put incentives into place to hire minorities, it probably tells you that something needs to change. But for me, this is really about making sure there are opportunities for minorities, and I think when you open your pool of candidates to give you more to draw from, it helps you find the best person, whoever that is."Rivera interviewed eight times for head coaching jobs with various teams before landing his first gig in Carolina in 2011. He said at times he felt like he was a "token" minority candidate, which was frustrating.Eventually, he sensed teams were truly interested in hiring him and that he became better in interviews as time went on."When I finally realized there was real interest, that was a pretty cool feeling," Rivera said.There is still work to be done to achieve equality.According to the institute's 2023 racial and gender report, two-thirds Sonny Gray Jersey of the league (66.7%) consists of players who are minorities, with 53.5% being Black. Those percentages don't reflect the percentage of minority and Black head coaches.But progre s is being made.There are six Black head coaches entering 2024 Morris, Mayo, Pierce, s Mike Tomlin, Tampa Bays Todd Bowles and s DeMeco Ryans which doubles the number from the 2023 season. The other minority coaches are Canales, who is Mexican American, 's multiracial Mike McDaniel and the ' Robert Saleh, who is Lebanese.Morris is the first non-interim Black coach in Falcons' history.Rivera believes the succe s of existing Cameron Maybin Jersey minority head coaches in the 2023 season "absolutely" impacted the number of minority hires this year. Bowles, Ryans, Tomlin and McDaniel all led their teams to the playoffs.Rivera, like many minority head coaches, hopes that one day color won't be an i sue."What is happening is it is becoming more mainstream," Rivera said of the increasing number of minority hires. "There are enough good coaches now where we can start saying, 'Hey, lets just call everybody a head coach, not nece sarily minority head coach.'"Reporting by The A sociated Pre s. Do you want more great stories delivered right to you? Here's how you can create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow your favorite leagues, teams and players and receive a personalized newsletter in your inbox daily.