Patriots coach Bill Belichick brought forward a proposal at this week’s league meeting to allow coaches to challenge any call that they think instant replay could correct. But the NFL’s owners voted the proposal down.
And it’s not only the NFL’s coaches who opposed the proposal. According to Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, co-chair of the competition committee, most coaches don’t want that responsibility.
“The support among the coaches was less than 50 percent,” Fisher said.
Fisher said there is support, however, for altering the way replay works in the NFL.
“We are going to take a look at replay,” Fisher said. “We have to look at our entire system. With technology changing and the fact that the membership agreed to allow [the NFL officiating department] to oversee and consult with officials this year is a major step. We are constantly evaluating our replay system because we all want to get things right.”
Belichick believes that one way to get things right is to give coaches the opportunity to request another look on replay. But the majority of coaches believe that’s just one more thing they have to worry about, and they’d rather not constantly be thinking about whether to challenge the previous play.