NEW YORK - NFL officials will meet next week with a group seeking further head coaching opportunities for blacks and increased minority hiring, The New York Times reported Thursday. <br>
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The newspaper said Cyrus Mehri, a lawyer representing the group, will meet with NFL executives Harold Henderson and Jeff Pash on Tuesday at the league's offices. <br>
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Henderson is the NFL's executive vice president for labor relations and chairman of the management council, and Pash is the executive vice president and chief administrative officer-cousel. <br>
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``We look forward to the meeting and trying to explore areas of common ground,'' Mehri told the newspaper. ``We want to get to the substance of our proposals and see what the next steps are to get this on the owners' agenda the following week.'' <br>
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The owners are scheduled to hold their fall meeting in New York on Oct. 30 and 31. <br>
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``Ideally, we would like to make a presentation to the owners,'' Mehri said. <br>
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The Times said NFL spokesman Joe Browne would not comment on the meeting. <br>
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There are currently two black head coaches in NFL - Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Herman Edwards of the New York Jets. <br>
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Since Art Shell became the first black head coach of the modern era with the Raiders in 1989, there have been five: Dungy, Edwards, Shell, Dennis Green and Ray Rhodes. Terry Robiskie was an interim coach with Washington for three games in 2000.
