The Baltimore Ravens could be the biggest winners of all as the Houston Texans have hired David Culley as their newest head coach. With the Texans hiring Culley away from Baltimore, the Ravens will earn third-round compensatory picks in the 2021 and 2021 NFL drafts under the NFL’s new minority hiring rule.
NFL owners passed a new initiative in November, expanding the Rooney Rule a little further to promote more hiring of minorities into top roles. Under the NFL’s new minority hiring resolution, teams that lose a minority coach or executive to head coach or general manager positions with another team will earn third-round compensatory picks in each of the next two NFL drafts.
As CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones pointed out, Culley has a very interesting and extensive background in football. Culley was the first black quarterback at Vanderbilt and he’s been an assistant head coach under both John Harbaugh and Andy Reid, giving him on- and off-field experience in preparation for this new job.
The Ravens have been one of the bastions of racial equality in football, being the first team to have a black general manager in Ozzie Newsome. And throughout the last year, as the country has been embroiled over racial and social tensions, the entire team — with owner Steve Bisciotti prominently featured — has been leading the charge in calling for both political and societal changes to stop systemic racism.
Though coach John Harbaugh has often preached continuity, especially in regards to his coaching staff, the Ravens have often been excited about their coaches get bigger and better opportunities elsewhere. While losing Culley will undoubtedly impact Baltimore’s offense, it’s great to see him get a chance to shine as a head coach for the first time. And the Ravens getting two compensatory picks doesn’t hurt either.
[listicle id=60168]