Ryan Clark, former Super Bowl champion and ESPN analyst, criticizes the New England Patriots for their handling of the Rooney Rule during their recent head-coaching search, reigniting debates about NFL diversity efforts.

Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark blasted the New England Patriots on "Inside the NFL" for how they complied with the NFL's Rooney Rule when they hired Mike Vrabel.

In searching for the successor to Jerod Mayo, the New England Patriots adhered to the ‘Rooney Rule’ — not in practice, but merely in principle.

The Rooney Rule is an NFL policy that requires teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs. The rule was created to help coaches who are minorities but ESPN’s Ryan Clark isn’t convinced it’s effective.

Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were both first-round picks, and are both on a Hall of Fame track. They also share the same legacy of not having won enough in the postseason.

Detroit Lions' Tanner Engstrand is considered a potential replacement if current offensive coordinator Ben Johnson leaves for a head coaching job.

The Patriots spoke with an under-the-radar candidate for their head coaching vacancy on Tuesday. Pep Hamilton was in Foxborough for an interview, the team announced. The 50-year-old former offensive coordinator is well-traveled and was most recently the Texans in 2022, but has been out of the league for the past two seasons.

The Patriots announced they completed interviews with Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton on Tuesday. That makes them the first team to comply with the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to conduct in-person interviews with at least two minority candidates.

The Patriots are scheduled to interview Mike Vrabel on Thursday and are also expected to virtually interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson later this week.

During the latest edition of his "The Right Time" podcast, sports journalist Bomani Jones defended the Patriots even though it's now clear New England was always going to hire Patriots Hall of Famer and one-time Associated Press Coach of the Year Award winner Mike Vrabel for the job.

The New England Patriots announced they have completed interviews with former Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich and former Texans OC Pep Hamilton for their head coaching vacancy.  Both interviews were today.

This comes two days after New England's owner, Robert Kraft, announced that head coach Jerod Mayo was fired following the team's disappointing 4-13 season.