On the list of problems for the Jaguars, Mike Mularkey pitching a fit falls way down the list.
But he wasn’t proud of himself for his tantrum, which cost his team a 15-yard penalty that led to a touchback on the ensuing kickoff.
Mularkey lost it when Colts quarterback Andrew Luck scored on a fourth-and-1, thinking officials didn’t spend enough time reviewing the play. He said he thought his outburst might have clouded some judgement calls later in the game, as well.
“Really not very proud of it, to be honest with you,” Mularkey said, via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. “That’s not good for your football team, to show that kind of frustration to them, and it sends a sign that it’s OK, and it’s not OK.
“I think it was a direct influence on the officiating crew that you’re questioning them and putting them on the spot, and that may result in things later that were maybe gray and called because of what I did. That was not a good decision on my part.”
Mularkey threw his headset and play card, leading to the rebuke from officials. The Jags coach said an official told him, “You can’t do that,” to which he replied “Neither can you.”
But they did, and Mularkey had earned his first penalty, and one of the six 15-yard flags on his team. Ten penalties for 115 yards, both season highs, underlined the frustration of the 1-8 Jags, which is beginning to overflow.