ALLEN PARK, Mich., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The NFL wants an explanation from the Detroit Lions, who allegedly failed to interview minority candidates before hiring Steve Mariucci as their coach.
Lions President Matt Millen confirmed Friday that he has been summoned to a special meeting with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and members of the league's Committee on Workplace Diversity early next month.
The Lions has been criticized for their alleged failure to adhere to guidelines put in place Dec. 20 by the committee headed by Pittsburgh Steelers President Dan Rooney.
Detroit targeted Mariucci after he was fired by the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 15 and did not conduct any other in-person interviews. Rooney said their hiring process "fell short" of committee guidelines requiring a team to interview at least one minority candidate after Mariucci was hired on Feb. 4.
However, the Lions contacted a number of minority candidates, including former Minnesota Coach Dennis Green and Steelers defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, but were turned down for interviews because it appeared inevitable Mariucci would be hired.
Any punishment against the Lions could result in a fine or perhaps the loss of draft choices.
Under criticism by civil rights attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Cyrus Mehri for their practice of hiring minorities, the NFL implemented a comprehensive program to promote diversity in their coaching and front office ranks based upon recommendations of the NFL Committee on Workplace Diversity.
NFL team owners strongly agreed on the principle that any club seeking to hire a head coach will interview one or more minority applicants for the position.
There are only three black head coaches in the league with the recent hire of Marvin Lewis by the Cincinnati Bengals. The others are Herman Edwards of the New York Jets and Tony Dungy at Indianapolis.
