When a Coach Crosses the Line

In most cases, a disagreement with a coach will end with the coach walking away and moving on to the next play. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. What do we do when the coach is so enraged he will not disengage, or when he says or does something that “crosses the line?”

When a blowup happens, we must not match the coach’s level of intensity. Patrick Holt, a Super Bowl line of scrimmage official says our response to coaches should be the inverse of how they are addressing us. The crazier/heated they are, the calmer we must be. Our goal is to deescalate the situation.

In my opinion, if we miss a call and the coach is upset, we give the coach as much grace as possible to vent. For example, an official blows an inadvertent whistle that negates a turnover or an obvious touchdown. An official does not throw a flag following a late hit that injures a player. Or a runner who is down by rule continues to run for a long gain. The coach has every right to be ticked off, and we need to give him more margin to express his anger.

We don’t give as much grace if the coach is upset about a judgment call or the coach simply misunderstands a rule. And we don’t give as much grace to assistant coaches or players.

For me, a coach will cross the line when his outburst meets one of these four “P” criteria:

Personal

When a coach uses “You” in a sentence, it may cross the line. “I guess you don’t have the flag sewn in your pants after all.” “You guys don’t care. It’s obvious you’re just out here for beer money.” “Just like always when we come here, we get home cooking! We’re never treated fairly here!”

Public

A comment muttered while standing beside an official is different than the same comment yelled at full volume. “That was a horrible call” at a normal tone of voice is much different than the same words yelled for everyone to hear.

Physical action like slamming a clipboard to the ground or wildly gesturing during a coach/official conversation may cross the line.

Persistent

With some teams, a coach will demand a flag on almost every play or will provide repeated commentary about officiating mistakes. Enough is enough. We should not allow assistant coaches to berate officials. It’s okay to shut down a coach if the coach is not attempting to communicate.

Profane

We all have our own profanity tolerance level. In my opinion, profanity directed at officials is a “clean kill.” However, if a coach stands shoulder-to-shoulder with an official and says in a low tone of voice, “You guys really F’d that up,” I will give the coach more latitude. If he screams it, that has crossed the line.

In the next Ready for Play, we’ll discuss how to deescalate a heated situation.


Quiz

Read the quiz stem and then choose the best answer(s).

4/10 from the K-30. Realizing he is the twelfth player on the field, K40 attempts to leave the field but is between the numbers and the sideline when the ball is snapped. R20 fields the kick on the R-35 and runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.

  1. Team R must decline the foul to keep the score
  2. Team R can have the foul enforced on the try or on the subsequent kickoff
  3. Team R must enforce the foul on the try

Review Rule 8-2 to determine if any articles apply. Read Rule 10-4-2 Exception

Click below to reveal the Quiz answer and accompanying explanations.