Bruce Arians Gave the N.F.L. a Diversity Blueprint It Shouldn’t Ignore

“I wanted to ensure when I walked away that Todd Bowles would have the best opportunity to succeed,” Bruce Arians said at a news conference on Thursday.Credit...Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesRooney Rule? Maybe the N.F.L. should forget the Rooney Rule, which the league leans on in a halfhearted effort to increase diversity among its head coaches. What the N.F.L. needs are more leaders like Bruce Arians.

A profound American truth was on display this week in Tampa Bay, Fla. When it comes to racial progress, it often takes one person in a position of power — emboldened, unafraid and, because of systemic inequity, usually white — to break through the logjam.

Over a year after coaching the Tampa Bay…