The recruitment of Liam Coen by the Jaguars really does seem like a Coen brothers film.

Beyond the impact of an unenforceable side deal that his new contract with the Buccaneers was contingent on Coen not going to Jacksonville for an in-person interview, the Jaguars benefited from Coen making a secret trip to Duval County.

As explained by Albert Breer of SI.com, the Jaguars needed to interview one more minority candidate in person — Patrick Graham — in order to comply with the Rooney Rule. Writes Breer: “[T]he Jags didn’t want word of their plans getting out, which could cause Graham to cancel.”

While it’s not known whether Graham would have canceled if he’d known Coen remained in play, Breer’s implication is that the Jaguars hoped to keep the ongoing recruitment of Coen a secret to ensure that Graham wouldn’t refuse to submit to an in-person interview. If he had, the Jaguars would have had to delay the hiring of Coen until after the Jaguars conducted an in-person interview with another minority candidate.

The only other minority candidate who conducted a virtual interview with the Jaguars was Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Given that he has active litigation against the league regarding its minority hiring practices, checking the last box with Flores would have opened an entirely different can of worms, for the team and the league.

In the end, it worked. The Jaguars conducted in-person interviews with Robert Saleh and Patrick Graham. The letter of the Rooney Rule was satisfied.

Even if the Jaguars had no intention of hiring Graham when they conducted his in-person interview.

They’re not the only team that has seemingly put the language of the rule over its spirit in the current cycle. The Patriots motored through in-person interviews of Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton before hiring Mike Vrabel. And the Bears conducted an in-person interview of Eddie George the day after the Lions’ season ended, clearing the way to hire offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

It all comes at a time when the new administration has taken a very aggressive stance against diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the workplace And it feels inevitable that a sound bite or social-media post will target the NFL’s ongoing effort to reverse a history of hiring practices that have worked to the disadvantage of minority candidates.