Getty Image / Michael Zagans
I don’t think anyone would take issue with the thought that the San Francisco 49ers are one of the league’s best franchises. The team has been a Super Bowl contender for much of the last fifteen years with a few different cores.
But, some NFL teams are taking issue with the number of compensatory picks the San Francisco 49ers have received in recent years as part of the league’s push to get coaches from diverse backgrounds hired.
ESPN buried that little nugget of information in an article about San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan ahead of Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
We know he can hire well and diverse; in fact, owners have complained to the league office about the sheer number of compensatory picks the 49ers have received for serving as a pipeline for coaches and executives of color.
Since 2020, the league has awarded extra 3rd-round compensatory picks to teams who have assistant coaches or executives hired away by other teams. It’s designed to incentivize teams to hire minority employees in the hopes that they can be developed to become coordinators, head coaches, and general manager.
And, few teams have benefitted from that like the San Francisco 49ers. They’ve had three minorities hired away to be head coaches in the Jets’ Robert Salah, Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel, and Texans’ DeMeco Ryans, plus a few executives have received outside promotions as well.
But, this is a silly complaint, to me, considering every other team could be hiring and developing minority coaches and received the same draft compensation. Plus, this is a rule, like all rules, the franchises put in themselves. To complain about one team taking advantage of a rule better than the others is insane.