ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - The NFL says it will investigate whether the Oakland Raiders violated the "Rooney Rule" when they hired Jon Gruden as coach.
Spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday in a statement that the NFL will "look into this." The Fritz Pollard Alliance called for the investigation on Wednesday out of concern that Raiders owner Mark Davis came to an agreement with Gruden before the team interviewed any minority candidates as required by the NFL since 2003.
Davis said Tuesday after the introductory news conference that he believed that Gruden was "all in" to take the job during a meeting Dec. 24. Davis fired Jack Del Rio a week later and the team officially hired Gruden on Jan. 6 after the team interviewed two minority candidates.