People in New England reportedly “disapproved” of the team’s handling of the Rooney Rule in the head coach search

Former Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Ryan Clark thinks the Rooney Rule has become a complete joke. That was made evident with the New England Patriots bringing in Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich for interviews,

Did the New England Patriots violate the Rooney Rule in hiring Mike Vrabel? Uncover the controversy shaking up their hiring process.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has always gone outside the box with many of his coaches and roster management. He didn't offer a full interview process for Bill Belichick back in 2000 - essentially just stealing him from the Jets. He also did not run an interview process for Jerod Mayo last season.

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

Former NFL GM Rod Graves criticized the Patriots' usage of the Rooney Rule by interviewing two black candidates before hiring Mike Vrabel.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has hired Mike Vrabel but Lions DC Aaron Glenn made a point about the Rooney Rule in the process.

The NFL's Rooney Rule has been in place for more than 20 years as a way to help ensure that minority coaching candidates get a fair shot at jobs. But as time has gone on it's increasingly become a box that owners just check off on the way to hiring the candidates that they already had in mind —

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.

One NFL Insider called the Patriots' head coaching search a "sham" aimed at circumventing the league's Rooney Rule

Rod Graves, a former NFL executive who worked for teams such as the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets, said that the New England Patriots did not comply with the spirit of the Ro

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.