When it comes to gambling, the official policy in the NFL is to stay far, far away. But one former NFL head coach says that he frequently talked about point spreads with his players.
Former Giants coach Jim Fassel, now the head coach of the UFL’s Las Vegas Locos, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he thinks it’s valuable to know the point spread on games he’s coaching.
“I’ve never bet on a game and never will bet on a game,” Fassel said. “But I have always looked at the spread.”
Fassel said he found as a coach that he could fire players up by telling them they were underdogs.
“I would use it for motivation if we were the ‘dog,” he said. “A lot of times you use it as motivation. Of course, you can’t use that every week, but hopefully you’re not the underdog every week, either.”
If Fassel ever returns to the NFL, he’ll be urged to keep quiet about point spreads. But he’s currently coaching in Vegas in a league where they openly embrace gambling, and Fassel is a good fit.