Roger Goodell Press Conference

NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, addressed the media on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. As expected, members of the media did not hold back. The very first question of the day addressed how the number of minority heads coaches went from eight to four, and how there were only two minority offensive coordinators in the league. When asked if this raised concerns, Goodell reminded us that the success or failure of the Rooney Rule wasn’t measured in just one year but for the most part agreed that there is always room to improve. Goodell did mention plans to create a deeper pool of opportunity – specifically, a quarterback summit with Moorehouse College that will be held in June.

From there, the easiest question he fielded may have been about whether or not the stadium roof would be open for Super Bowl LIII, a decision that won’t be made until closer to game time. Outside of the weather forecast, Goodell was tasked with answering questions ranging from the Raiders relocation issues to what he felt about President Donald Trump slamming the NFL for “ruining the game”, with what he called unnecessary penalties. Ah yes, and who could forget the barrage of questions he’d be forced to answer about the missed call in the NFC Championship game?!

One reporter asked, “Roger, did you believe the NFL rulebook would give you authority to overturn the result of the Rams/Saints game, or have the game replayed from the point of the missed call – and if so, did you give any consideration too that?”. The question was met with a resounding, “Absolutely not.”, from Goodell. “Commissioner will not apply his authority in cases of complaints by clubs concerning judgmental errors or routine errors by game officials.”, Goodell continued. That answer wouldn’t prevent a room full of journalists from trying to find out exactly how the NFL aims to prevent this nightmare from happening again. Goodell pointed out that when a game is officiated by human beings there will always be human error – and no the NFL won’t be moving to robots anytime soon. “My role is to make sure the competition committee understands that this is critical for us to analyze, to evaluate, and to try to see if there’s a better solution than what we have today,” Goodell responded.

Don’t think that Goodell got out of the room without hearing the name, Colin Kaepernick. Kap hasn’t played in the league for over two years, but that doesn’t mean the issue is going away anytime soon. When asked if he found it concerning that Colin had yet to be signed, Roger once again shied away from his own personal opinion. “I’ve said it many times privately and publicly that our clubs are the ones who make decisions about players they want on their roster,” Goodell said. “They make those decisions individually.”

To see the conference in its entirety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH7B6qRbhDk&feature=youtu.be