NFL · 1 hour ago

Stephen A. Smith Puts Five Big NFL Questions to Commissioner Roger Goodell

Bo Marchionte

Host · Writer

NFL: Minority Coaching
Minority Coaching Hires

Stephen A.’s question: “There were 10 openings. One minority was hired, if I remember correctly. How much of a concern was that for you when that transpired last season?”

Goodell: “We don’t dictate hiring. What we do is try to make sure that the policies are followed so that we’re looking to try to, in the broadest possible way, to look at diverse slates of candidates.”

Buy or sell: Sell. He can enforce the interview process, but that answer stops at the process. One hire from 10 openings demands scrutiny of who gets a genuine shot once the interviews end.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
Roger Goodell’s NFL: Growth Has a Price

Stephen A. Smith has a previous recorded interview with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell from Rio, Brazil last week. It was shared on ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show’ on SiriusXM earlier today.

In splendid fashion, Smith asked all the necessary questions and Goodell provided qualities answers.

“We don’t like to be second to too many things, Stephen,” Goodell replied to one of his questions.

That in a nutshell is how the NFL operates. They operate to be No. 1 in everything. Goodell provided the blueprint of sorts on the next conquest for the National Football League.
NFL: International Games
International expansion

Stephen A.’s question: “How plausible is that? How soon do you see that transpiring, particularly in Europe, in terms of potentially adding another NFL team?”

Goodell: “Eventually, if we continue to grow the way we’ve been growing, you know, I can see an international franchise. I don’t know what the time frame is, but we’re not rushing that.”

Buy or sell: Buy. He sees a franchise as the prize, but offers no date or market. Games abroad can test demand. They cannot prove that a city can sustain an NFL team every week.
NFL: Travel Burden Overseas
The Travel Burden

Stephen A.’s question: “When you think about players and their complaints or their concerns in regard to that, what do you say to them?”

Goodell: “We actually, we don’t wait for that. We seek it. We’re looking for input. What are those important things?”

Buy or sell: Sell. Asking players is the right move. Goodell still has no standard for arrival time or recovery. Until the league sets one, clubs can keep experimenting with players’ preparation.
NFL: Preseason Games
Eighteen Games and the Preseason

Stephen A.’s question: “Do you ever get to a point where you worry about the product being compromised that’s on the field, particularly at the beginning of seasons, the first month of the season? If there are less preseason games?”

Goodell: “I don’t think preseason games reflect well in the NFL. NFL players, you know, most of the players that are going to be on the roster don’t play in those games. I don’t think it’s a great product.”

Buy or sell: Buy. He has a fair point about preseason quality. Replacing an exhibition with a game that counts raises a different question: whether players can absorb another week of real contact.
NFL: Gambling and NFL Employees
Betting and Game Integrity

Stephen A.’s question: “How do you protect the credibility of NFL games when the league and its partners profit from betting while players face strict gambling rules?”

Goodell: “We hold everybody to the same standard. We’ve had more NFL employees and front office people that have actually been they lose their job. Really? Yeah, and discipline.”

Buy or sell: Sell. Rules for employees answer the fairness complaint. They do less to address the league’s financial stake in betting. Goodell’s caution on prediction markets shows he recognizes the distinction.
NFL: Minority Coaching
Minority Coaching Hires

Stephen A.’s question: “There were 10 openings. One minority was hired, if I remember correctly. How much of a concern was that for you when that transpired last season?”

Goodell: “We don’t dictate hiring. What we do is try to make sure that the policies are followed so that we’re looking to try to, in the broadest possible way, to look at diverse slates of candidates.”

Buy or sell: Sell. He can enforce the interview process, but that answer stops at the process. One hire from 10 openings demands scrutiny of who gets a genuine shot once the interviews end.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
Roger Goodell’s NFL: Growth Has a Price

Stephen A. Smith has a previous recorded interview with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell from Rio, Brazil last week. It was shared on ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show’ on SiriusXM earlier today.

In splendid fashion, Smith asked all the necessary questions and Goodell provided qualities answers.

“We don’t like to be second to too many things, Stephen,” Goodell replied to one of his questions.

That in a nutshell is how the NFL operates. They operate to be No. 1 in everything. Goodell provided the blueprint of sorts on the next conquest for the National Football League.

Stephen A. Smith Puts Five Big NFL Questions to Commissioner Roger Goodell

Minority Coaching Hires

Roger Goodell’s NFL: Growth Has a Price

International expansion

The Travel Burden

Eighteen Games and the Preseason

Betting and Game Integrity

Minority Coaching Hires

Roger Goodell’s NFL: Growth Has a Price

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