Saying that the San Francisco 49ers are among the league’s greatest teams is probably not something that anyone would argue against. With various cores over the last fifteen years, the team has been a Super Bowl contender for most of that time.
However, in an effort by the league to select coaches from varied backgrounds, some NFL teams are protesting the number of compensatory picks the San Francisco 49ers have received in recent years.
Since 2020, teams whose assistant coaches or executives were hired away by other teams are eligible to receive an additional set of third-round compensation choices from the league. It’s intended to encourage teams to hire minority workers with the goal of developing them into coordinators, head coaches, and general managers.
And few clubs have benefited more from it than the 49ers in San Francisco. Three minority hires—Robert Salah of the Jets, Mike McDaniel of the Dolphins, and DeMeco Ryans of the Texans—have become head coaches. A few executives have also been promoted by outside parties.
I find this to be a ridiculous argument, though, given that other teams might be employing and training minority coaches and yet receiving the same money for the draft. In addition, the franchises themselves imposed this regulation, just like they do with all others. It’s absurd to rail against a team for using a rule more effectively than the others.
