NFL commissioner updates NFL’s investigation of Dolphins, more. And a playoff rule change
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that there is no timetable for the league’s ongoing investigation into former Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ allegations against Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.
The league’s investigation into the matter is being led by Mary Jo White, who is the former chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a former U.S. District Attorney.
In the wake of his dismissal as Dolphins coach, Flores has alleged that Ross offered to pay him $100,000 per loss in 2019 in an effort to position the franchise for a higher draft pick.
Flores also said Ross tried to persuade him to attend a meeting with a prominent quarterback (later identified as Tom Brady) in the winter of 2020, well before the March date after which free agents, such as Brady at the time, are permitted to speak with teams.
Ross has vehemently denied the allegations.
Asked at the NFL owners meetings if he expects resolution on the Ross/Flores situation before the season, Goodell said:
“I’m not doing that investigation,” Goodell said. “Mary Jo White is doing that investigation, and she will have our full support and support of the team. She will make the determinations on that, and there is not timetable for her to bring back a report. When we have it, we will certainly move forward.”
Because one of Flores’ two allegations against Ross involves “integrity of the game,” Goodell said the findings of the investigation would be released publicly if Ross is determined to have done anything wrong.
“A matter that’s integrity of the game, if we see something that’s a violation, we will certainly make that public, yes,” Goodell said.
In August 2018, White chaired the investigation related to Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer’s denials of knowing about domestic violence committed by one of his former assistant coaches, Zach Smith.
White also has represented Purdue Pharma in litigation brought by victims of the opioid epidemic.
Ross attended this week’s owners meetings at The Breakers in Palm Beach but did not speak with reporters, unlike past years.
If the NFL finds wrongdoing by Ross, he could be fined or suspended. Removal from his ownership is an option, but the NFL hasn’t done that this century.
As perspective, in the wake of the NFL’s investigation into claims of sexual harassment against employees of the Washington football team, owner Daniel Snyder stepped away from the team’s day to day operations, passing those responsibilities to his wife Tanya last June.
Goodell — who never publicly suspended Snyder — said Tuesday that Snyder remains away from the team and hasn’t visited team headquarters.
Flores has filed lawsuits against three teams — the Dolphins, Giants and Broncos. His lawsuit against the NFL accuses the league of racial discrimination in its hiring practices.
In the aftermath, the NFL this week announced several steps to encourage minority hiring:
▪ The league is requiring all teams to employ a “female or a member of an ethnic or racial minority” as an offensive assistant.
Candidates must have at least three years of collegiate or professional experience in coaching football.
The NFL will reimburse teams up to $200,000 in 2022 and $205,000 in 2023 from a league fund for coaches.
▪ The NFL launched a committee to review its diversity hiring practices. The committee includes business leaders, academics and former Houston Texans GM Rick Smith.
▪ The league announced that as a way to increase diversity at the ownership level, the NFL — in evaluating potential new ownership groups — will “regard it as a positive and meaningful factor if the group includes diverse individuals who would have a significant equity stake in and involvement with the club, including serving as the controlling owner.”
The NFL will keep the Rooney Rule, which requires at least one minority candidate be interviewed for head coaching and senior football operations positions.
THIS AND THAT
▪ The NFL is changing its overtime rule, but only for postseason.
Indianapolis and Philadelphia proposed a rule change that would assure each team a possession in overtime for all regular-season and playoff games. But that proposal didn’t have the necessary support (at least 24 yes votes).
NFL teams instead approved to make the change only for playoff games. The vote was 29-3, with the Dolphins, Vikings and Bengals voting against the proposal for reasons that are unclear.
The regular season rule will remain unchanged: If the team receiving the kickoff begins overtime with a touchdown, the game ends. If the team with the ball first in overtime kicks a field goal, the other team gets one possession to try to tie or win the game.
But in the playoffs, each team will get at least one overtime possession under any circumstances. NFL teams approved the change after being informed by the league that teams that won the overtime coin toss are 10-2 in the playoffs since 2010, with seven of those victories coming on opening possessions.
“If both teams score and the game is tied, in that instance, there’s a good chance the second team that scores goes for two,” NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay said, while noting that the team is obviously not required to go for two.
If the team that gets the ball first in overtime of a playoff game takes 11 minutes to score, that doesn’t mean the opposing team will get four minutes. The second team will keep the ball for how ever long it takes until the possession ends.
▪ Goodell said the expansion to a 17-game season had no negative impact from a player safety standpoint.
▪ The NFL reviewed 61 plays involving taunting and determined the league got 57 of them right.
Among plays the league said it got wrong: not penalizing then-Chiefs and now-Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill for taunting for giving the peace sign to the Bills in Kansas City’s playoff win.
▪ Detroit landed the 2024 NFL Draft and will be the subject of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” in training camp.
Here’s my Tuesday piece with three NFC coaches and the Buffalo Bills’ coach and general manager discussing the Dolphins.
Here’s my Tuesday Dolphins 6-pack with more insight on the Tyreek Hill trade from Andy Reid and Chris Grier, and more notes.
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 5:17 PM.
