NFL to implement 'Rooney Rule' for women seeking executive positions

The Buffalo Bills' hiring of Kathryn Smith as a special teams quality control coach was a monumental moment for the NFL, and the league wants to ensure women continue to receive equal opportunities at all levels.

Speaking Thursday at the NFL's first Women's Summit, commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the league will be implementing a "Rooney Rule" for women seeking executive positions.

Established in 2003, the "Rooney Rule" requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching and senior football operations jobs.

"We believe in diversity," Goodell said at the summit. "We believe we're better as an organization when we have good people at the table. We have great people at the table. ... We're also seeing it on the field.

"Sarah Thomas, Sarah's right here. Sarah was our first NFL female official on the field this year. Sarah, congratulations. And she did a fantastic job, and we're very proud of her. We also have people breaking into coaching ranks. I don't know if Jen is here, is Jen here? Jen's right next to her. Jen (Welter) is the first coach last year in the NFL. And she set a trend, we now have a second coach of the Buffalo Bills, a female coach (Kathryn Smith)."