Before Wednesday’s 31-1 vote that prevents players in the open field from using the tops of their helmets to ram opponents, plenty of coaches expressed concerns about the proposal.
Now that the rule has been passed, don’t count on any coaches popping off.
As we mentioned earlier in the day on Twitter, word around the league meetings in the aftermath of the vote is that the powers-that-be told coaches not to criticize the new rule.
It’s not uncommon for the NFL to direct its coaches to be discreet. On plenty of topics, the First Amendment rights crafted by the founding fathers get flung overboard once the coach applies his John Hancock to a seven-figure contract.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the coaches continue to comply once their teams lose 15 yards after a long play.