Patriots Made 'Mockery' Of Rooney Rule, Ex-NFL Exec, GM Says

The New England Patriots might've technically satisfied the Rooney Rule requirement, but NOT the spirit ... according to longtime NFL executive/GM Rod Graves who says the Pats made a joke of the policy.

TMZ Sports spoke with Graves, who after decades working in the NFL as a league executive and general manager, now serves as the Executive Director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, an org. dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion within pro football, about the much-debated rule that says teams must interview a minority candidate before hiring a coach.

Robert Kraft's football team interviewed two Black head coach hopefuls, Pep Hamilton and Byron Leftwich, before ultimately hiring Mike Vrabel ... who was expected to land the job from the moment the Patriots fired Jerod Mayo.

"It certainly can be debated as to whether or not they went through a fair Rooney rule process in hiring Mike Vrabel," Graves told us while adding he fully understands the former Titans coach has "all the credentials necessary for taking that job."

The issue, as Rod explains, is ... "Whether or not [Pep and Byron] were actually given a serious interview," and Graves doesn't think that's the case.

"I don't happen to believe that that was the case. And so if you look at it from that standpoint, it was really to make somewhat of a mockery of the process when Mike Vrabel was their intention all along."

So, what's the answer moving forward for a league that still wishes to have more diversity within the coaching ranks?

"I believe in the spirit of the rule, number one, and I appreciate that the rule exists. I, for one, advocate that it should always be there. I think the challenge will be making sure that owners recognize ultimately what we're trying to achieve."

The ultimate goal?