Among five African-American coaches fired as the N.F.L. season wound down was Steve Wilks, who coached the Arizona Cardinals (3-13) for one season.
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The N.F.L.’s 32 owners made an unexpected announcement after meeting a few weeks ago: The league was strengthening rules that obligate teams to consider minority candidates when hiring coaches and executives in their front offices.
At the time, the league said it was just trying to beef up existing regulations, not reacting to criticism that teams had been skirting the rules for years.
“Our focus was simply: How do we make the Rooney Rule better?