The Las Vegas Raiders have been conducting interviews for their next head coach for more than a week, but they cannot make a final decision until they satisfy a longstanding NFL policy designed to promote diversity in leadership.

Under the Rooney Rule, named after former Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney and adopted in 2003, every team with a head coaching vacancy must conduct at least two in-person interviews with minority candidates, including females. The rule was enacted after a study found that Black head coaches had a higher winning percentage than white head coaches but were still more likely to be fired, a finding that followed the dismissal of Dennis Green and Tony Dungy — who was just the fifth Black head coach in league history and was fired despite a 54-42 record in six seasons with Tampa Bay.

The Raiders have already held a preliminary Zoom interview with Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, but that does not count toward the in-person requirement. The team has also requested interviews with Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and Rams passing game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase.

Over the years, the Rooney Rule has expanded beyond head coaching positions to include general manager, primary football executive, coordinator, quarterback coach, and senior level executive roles. For those jobs, teams must interview at least two external minority candidates.

In 2020, the NFL added incentives to encourage teams to develop minority coaches and staffers. Any team that loses a minority executive or coach to another team receives a compensatory third-round draft pick for each of the next two years. If a team loses both a coach and a personnel staffer, it gets three years of third-round compensatory picks.

“This diversity enriches the game and creates a more effective, quality organization from top to bottom,” the league states on its website explaining the guidelines. Commissioner Roger Goodell added at the time of the 2020 update that the changes were designed to “bolster the current Rooney Rule requirements and are intended to create additional opportunities for diverse candidates to be identified, interviewed, and ultimately hired when a vacancy becomes available.”