We doubt Saints coach Sean Payton literally screamed at, say, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who told Sporting News he does not like the idea of making a pass interference penalty or non-call a reviewable play. But Monday’s private session featuring the league’s coaches, part of the NFL’s annual meeting in Phoenix this week, reportedly ran long due to the emphatic nature of the replay conversation. Payton called it “the best meeting I’ve been a part of in my 13 years.”
MORE: Sean Payton lobbies for replay expansion
Largely as a result of the missed pass interference penalty that helped the Rams advance to the Super Bowl over the Saints, NFL team owners on Tuesday voted to pass a proposal that for one year will make offensive and defensive pass interference calls and non-calls reviewable.
The reason for the initial proposal, per the NFL: “Integrity of the Game.” With a capital G, of course.
This is a big deal for the NFL and its “Game” — more so, apparently, than conversations around topics such as modified overtime rules, onside kick alternatives or any of the other 20 playing rule and bylaw proposals being considered. The understandable passion Payton has expressed with his opinion is shared by other coaches, but not all of them agree on the topic.
During a media session with NFL coaches Tuesday in Phoenix, hours before the approval of the new replay rules, SN was curious to about their opinions on the idea of making pass interference reviewable. We asked the same, simple question to seven coaches: “Is making pass interference reviewable a good idea or a bad idea?”
Below are their responses.
Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks
“If this (rule change) takes place, this is a step to affect the outcome of that. The league has determined how volatile (PI) is because it’s a spot foul call; 50-yard plays. To give us a chance to clarify some of those calls that might have gone the wrong way, it’s worth looking at.
“If that happens, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens to the rest of the play. You can’t review every play. There’s so few challenges happening right now — under one challenge a game is the average — that maybe we’ll utilize those a little bit more. Maybe the guys upstairs can get a look and they can stop it and say, ‘OK, yeah, this guy did grab somebody, or he did shove somebody,’ that they couldn’t see in full speed.
“This is not something to hold against the officials. Every official that has ever officiated in the years I’ve been in the game, they’ve all been trying to get it right. And nobody has solved the problem. It’s just a natural, difficult situation to figure out. So this may help some of those calls.”
Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings
Bruce Arians, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
“I sat in with the coaches yesterday, and we talked about one play that we slowed down frame-by-frame-by-frame. Even the offensive coaches didn’t think it was pass interference, except maybe Bruce (Arians).”
Dan Quinn, Atlanta Falcons
Anthony Lynn, Los Angeles Chargers
“I think as long as what it is, is very clear. The subjective ones are sometimes hard, and that’s why a catch was difficult. In bounds or out of bounds — that’s not as hard. But was he down or not? Did he cross the goal line? So the subjective ones are more challenging.
“Let’s make sure the standard of what OPI or DPI is, if we go down that road, let’s make sure that everybody’s working from the same standard.”
“At the same time, trying to make this game a perfect game — that’s not realistic. We don’t want to slow it down. I’m sure we can come up with something.”
Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
Frank Reich, Indianapolis Colts
“I think I think there’s an element to be able to officiate the game at live speed. For example, a great clip of this happening was in the Super Bowl, when Brandin Cooks was (catching) a go ball. It was 10-3, late in the game, and he got his arm tugged. At live speed, it didn’t necessarily look like PI, but when you slow it down, it did.
“But yeah, I think it could be a slippery slope.”
“As a head coach getting to sit in these discussions and hearing everybody’s take on it … a lot of different variations of what we could do and what we should do. So I think it’s a question of working together. ‘What makes sense? What’s the next step?’ Everybody wants the same thing. ‘How do we make it right for the obvious stuff?’
It’s never going to be perfect. That’s the big thing. Whatever decision is made, that’s not going to be perfect, either. There’s still going to be things coaches aren’t happy with and fans aren’t happy with. So there’s gotta be a way to get the low-hanging fruit and the obvious stuff, so I think that’s the focus.”
