Posted 1:19 PM by Floyd

The Detroit Lions needed a new coach. Then former 49'ers coach Steve Mariucci fell into their laps, and they grabbed him. Smart move by a sad-sack franchise on its way up, right?

Almost. The Lions did well to pick up a good coach, but they forgot to pay obeisance to the great god Diversity. The NFL has fined the Lions $200,000 for their failure to interview any minority candidates.

Note that the Lions are not being fined because they did not hire a black coach. They are being fined because they did not make an insincere effort to be in the general vicinity of some black people before hiring the coach they wanted. The NFL's decision is not just wrong; it's an insult to every fan they think they can cynically appease.

Update: As Paul Hepburn noted in the comments, the Lions invited five minority candidates, all of whom declined the invitation knowing that the Lions wanted to hire Mariucci.