Did the New England Patriots violate the Rooney Rule in hiring Mike Vrabel? Uncover the controversy shaking up their hiring process.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Ryan Clark thinks the Rooney Rule has become a complete joke. That was made evident with the New England Patriots bringing in Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich for interviews,

The New England Patriots reportedly interviewed a pair of head coaching candidates on Tuesday, as both Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton were reported to have met with the team about their head coaching vacancy.

In searching for the successor to Jerod Mayo, the New England Patriots adhered to the ‘Rooney Rule’ — not in practice, but merely in principle.

The Patriots spoke with an under-the-radar candidate for their head coaching vacancy on Tuesday. Pep Hamilton was in Foxborough for an interview, the team announced. The 50-year-old former offensive coordinator is well-traveled and was most recently the Texans in 2022, but has been out of the league for the past two seasons.

From the moment the Bears fired coach Matt Eberflus, they were committed to conducting a wide-ranging and deliberate search for a new coach.

Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark blasted the New England Patriots on "Inside the NFL" for how they complied with the NFL's Rooney Rule when they hired Mike Vrabel.

The Patriots are scheduled to interview Mike Vrabel on Thursday and are also expected to virtually interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson later this week.

The Patriots announced they completed interviews with Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton on Tuesday. That makes them the first team to comply with the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to conduct in-person interviews with at least two minority candidates.

This comes two days after New England's owner, Robert Kraft, announced that head coach Jerod Mayo was fired following the team's disappointing 4-13 season.

The New England Patriots announced they have completed interviews with former Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich and former Texans OC Pep Hamilton for their head coaching vacancy.  Both interviews were today.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports the Patriots interviewed former Texans OC Pep Hamilton for their HC opening on Tuesday. The following is a list of