Hey hey, welcome to your Thursday FOIAball.
I hope you’re doing well, and I hope you enjoyed our big scoop yesterday. It’s not often an independent reporter can get the NFL to trip up and reveal a big secret, but I did.
I’m just one lone journalism who’s going up against some of the richest and most powerful people and organizations in the country.
I can’t do that without readers who support me, good people who want to hold the powers that be accountable. And who want the kind of truly fearless reporting that’s becoming harder and harder to find.
It’s gonna take all of us. And all of us means you, too. So please: upgrade today.
I have to admit, I’m kind of obsessed with executive search firms. Seems like a pretty sweet gig.
These agencies swoop in when big organizations need to make a major decision, lending expertise, guidance, and assurance at a critical moment. While probably getting to expense a sweet dinner or two.
A lot of people think they’re kinda suss, though, another unnecessary outgrowth of our malignant consultant class, lending a veneer of respectability and a modicum of accountability in exchange for a sweet check. And some sweet dinners.
Either way, I’d be down.
One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard is that they help perpetuate the good ol’ boys' club in head coaching ranks, presenting candidates they know and like, creating the cycle of (mostly white) retreads that prevents (non-white) candidates from getting a shot.
Don’t take my word for it. Take theirs. This week, a prominent firm spelled it out. On Tuesday, a federal court unsealed a candidate assessment from Korn Ferry that is extremely revealing.
The document is part of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL, where he claims the league discriminates against Black coaches.
Korn Ferry sought to keep the memo private, arguing it would reveal trade secrets. Trade secrets like: how to paint an accomplished, qualified Black defensive coordinator as some sort of sad-sack Pygmalion story.
The memo called Flores "Polished and a good presenter despite growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn (same as Mike Tyson). He was able to build a strong friendship with a billionaire's son which gave him opportunities to socialize and learn how to build relationships with white-collar and upper-class individuals."
Korn Ferry produced the memo when Flores was a candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders job in 2024, a job he did not get. Who did?
Before we reveal the answer, let's pause for a word from our sponsor: The Jed Hughes Podcast.
Every episode of The Jed Hughes Podcast features a “unique leader” and delves into the “qualities that inspire greatness.” Join our host, Korn Ferry’s Vice Chair of Global Sports Practice Jed Hughes. He’s been called “the most connected man in sports,” and “ran the process that resulted in the hiring of Pete Carroll" as the Seattle Seahawks head coach.
Sorry about that. First ad I’ve ever run.
The Raiders hired the freshly fired Pete Carroll. How did that decision turn out?
Bad. It turned out very, very bad.
A lot of people are branding the Korn Ferry memo as racist, and while I understand the knee-jerk response, I do think it’s a bit rash.
Do any of these online pundits lobbing these serious claims know about Korn Ferry’s work with the NBA? I bet you didn’t know that in 2016, Korn Ferry was hired to find a new coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves. And in 2014, they handled the Detroit Pistons head coaching search.
Korn Ferry also spearheaded the hiring of the first Black coach at one of the nation’s most storied institutions, bringing Charlie Strong to Texas.
They made a mint on it. The going rate to place a head college football coach today is about $75,000. Twelve years ago, Korn Ferry charged the Longhorns $267,000.
Nuts. Like I said, I want in.
Strong’s hiring was a significant milestone, and Korn Ferry appeared committed to the cause of minority candidates.
In fact, in 2016, Hughes even did what people in positions of influence capable of forcing real change do when the time comes to maybe say something really important but also not ruffle too many feathers: pen an op-ed in USA Today.
Hughes said it was time for the NFL and college football to … enact some modest policy proposals. Like a second Rooney Rule. (A Twooney Rule.)
Personally, I think something like naming all the owners you know who made racist hiring decisions and publicly refusing to work with any of them ever again would have had a bigger impact. But that is why I’m not sitting atop corporate America.
(And, with this body of work, I probably won’t even be able to get an interview. So I really do need you to upgrade today.)
But going full Mean Girls aside, I have a better idea to show how hard these firms really push for candidates of color.
Release the Pete Carroll memo. Let us see exactly how two candidates for the same job were described so we can compare and contrast.
I mean, did y’all dive into Carroll’s history of 9/11 conspiracies and warn that bringing in a coach who does his own research might upset the community? Did you ask if he has thoughts on the Las Vegas Massacre? I bet he has questions about the helicopters. And I know he’s told people “bump stocks don’t sound like that.”
(I actually did email Hughes to see if he’d give me a copy of the Carroll memo. Ya never know!)
It should be mentioned that Hughes and Korn Ferry are responsible for a number of title-winning hires like Andy Reid in Kansas City, Masai Ujiri in Toronto, Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, and Bruce Arians at Tampa Bay.
Don’t care. Let’s talk about something miserable instead.
I am a long-suffering Commanders fan, so it's hard for me to be embarrassed by anything the franchise does. But Sunday sure came close. And the coach overseeing that snafu? He’s the man behind the most infamous franchise fail ever: the Falcons blowing a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl.
Who is to blame?
Korn Ferry! Korn Ferry was the search firm that placed Dan Quinn in his first-ever head-coaching job, hiring him for the Falcons. How’d that go? Awful. How are the Commanders this year? Garbage.
Gimmie Brian Flores blitzing 18 guys at once. That would be cool. But Korn Ferry won’t let it happen.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next week!!
But before you go…. Upgrade!
Pete Carroll via Ethan Miller / Staff / Getty
