NFL Referees Will Flag Coaches That Leave Sidelines to Argue Calls
By Josh Sanchez
NFL referees will be cracking down on coaches that leave the sidelines to argue calls next season.
NFL executive V.P. of football operations Ray Anderson said that the league could soon be flagging coaches that leave the sidelines and step on to the field to argue a call for unsportsmanlike conduct, per Clark Judge of CBS Sports.
“We need to be much more disciplined about where our coaches go in terms of the box,” Anderson said, “and venturing out on the field beyond traditional markers is something that is just not appropriate. It can interfere and it can be viewed as intimidating, and
we really are going to rein that in
.
“There are borders, but, very frankly, they’re loosely enforced. But they will be more aggressively enforced going forward because we need to rein it in. . . . Coaches can be flagged. It’s about enforcement and point of emphasis. So coaches who, after appropriate warning, continue to venture out will pay the price with a penalty that potentially could hurt their team.”
The slight rule change could drastically change the way we see coaches getting emotional and animated on the sidelines and, quite frankly, it is a necessary change.
It is a bad look for the league when coaches step on to the field and blast referees for calls. Calling a game is a hard job and there will always be missed calls that benefit both teams.
Hopefully the proposed rule change can cause for cooler heads from the NFL’s head coaches, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.