SAN JOSE, Calif. — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league needs to re-evaluate its approach to minority hiring after an offseason coaching cycle that saw only one of 10 head coaching jobs go to a minority and none to Black candidates.
“We need to continue to make progress,” Goodell said Monday. “I believe that and I believe diversity is good for us. … I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching. But we still have more work to do.”
The NFL will have only three Black head coaches next season. There were 10 head coaching openings this year and none was filled by a Black coach. Robert Saleh, who is of Lebanese descent, was the only minority to get a head coaching job when the Tennessee Titans hired him.
This was just the fifth time since the start of the Rooney Rule in 2003 that no Black head coaches were hired during an offseason coaching cycle. The only other time it happened in a year with more than five changes came in 2013, when there were eight openings.
No formal talks with union about adding 18th game
Goodell said there have been no discussions with the union about adding an 18th game to the regular season and said lengthening the season again is not inevitable.
The NFL added a 17th game in 2021, and Goodell has expressed interest in the past about adding an 18th game in place of one of the three exhibition games each team plays.
Goodell said a number of issues would have to be discussed with the union before an 18th game would be added, including whether a second bye week would be needed and the size of rosters to make sure it wouldn’t have a negative impact on player safety and competitiveness.
“We have not had any formal discussions about it and frankly very little of any informal conversations,” Goodell said. “It is not a given that we will do that. It’s not something we assume will happen. It’s something we want to talk about with the union leadership.”
NFL will look into Giants co-owner’s association with Jeffrey Epstein
The NFL will look into New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and his association with Jeffrey Epstein after his name showed up more than 400 times in files released by the U.S. Justice Department regarding Epstein.
“Absolutely we will look at all the facts,” Goodell said. “We’ll look at the context of those and try to understand that. We’ll look at how that falls under the (league’s personal conduct) policy. We’ll take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first.”
Tisch said last week he knew Epstein and they “exchanged emails about adult women” and “discussed movies, philanthropy and investments.” But Tisch, 76, denied going to Epstein’s island and never was charged in the investigation.
Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.
The documents were disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted after months of public and political pressure that requires the government to open its files on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Saints will play in NFL’s 1st regular-season game in France
The NFL will play its first regular-season game in France next season, with the New Orleans Saints set to travel to Paris, and the league also will head back to Mexico City for the first time since 2022.
The league on Monday announced plans to play a game at the Stade de France next season in addition to a multiyear deal to keep playing regular-season games at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and a game to be played in Mexico City in December.
“It’s the ambition we have to be a global sport,” Goodell said at his Super Bowl news conference. “But it’s also the demand we’re having. We’re hearing from cities that want to host these games and really want to get more American football.”
The NFL already announced its first game in Australia next season with the Los Angeles Rams set to host that game, as well as games in Rio de Janeiro, Munich and three in London. The league will have nine international games next season, and Goodell said it eventually will have 16 international games a year so each team plays one.
“That’s an important mark to shoot for and I think we’re on our way.” Goodell said.
The additions of Australia and France mean NFL games will have been played in nine countries outside of the United States after next season.
The NFL says it has played 62 regular-season games outside the U.S. so far, with London, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dublin, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto as hosts.
The Saints will play an opponent to be determined after the schedule is finalized later this year. The Saints have international marketing rights in France as part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program.
Saints owner Gayle Benson said she is excited to play in France, citing the “strong cultural connection between Louisiana and France.”
The Stade de France was built in 1998 when the country hosted the World Cup. It also was used for the 2024 Olympics and has hosted several major international sporting events.
The NFL says it has more than 14 million fans in France and launched a flag football program there in 2023 that already reaches more than 8,000 boys and girls.
The NFL did not announce either team for the game in Spain. The Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears currently have marketing rights in Spain as part of the league’s Global Markets Program.
The first regular-season game in Spain was played at the Bernabeu in November as the Dolphins defeated the Washington Commanders 16-13 in overtime before a crowd of 78,610.
NFL Spain country manager Rafa De Los Santos said the multiyear agreement to play games in Madrid “underlines our commitment to the market and enables us to continue to engage fans year-round and invest long-term in initiatives like NFL Flag and youth participation.”
The NFL said Spain is “an important market globally” with 11 million fans. It said it also will focus on developing the league’s flag football initiatives across the country.
After the first game in Madrid last year, there had been talk of the league also trying to organize a game in Barcelona at some point.
The NFL has played five games in Mexico City but hasn’t been back since 2022 while the stadium has undergone renovations for this summer’s World Cup.
“We’re heading back to Mexico City in December, which I think is wonderful for our fans in Mexico,” Goodell said. “They’re redoing the stadium for the World Cup. This will be a chance for us to get back there this December. We can’t wait for that either.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/02/nfl-roger-goodell-minority-hiring/
