League enforcing new rules in 2017
Odds are, Mississippi State head football coach Dan Mullen won’t agree with a call made by a game official at some point in the upcoming season.
Odds are, Mullen will choose to voice his displeasure at such a happening.
Due to a change in the rules this season though, Mullen is going to have to watch his step should such a situation arise.
A new rule will be enforced by Southeastern Conference and other officials this season that gives coaches a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty should the coach step on the field to argue.
“Somebody said to me, ‘You take a lot more off a coach than you ever would with a player,’ and that’s very true,” SEC coordinator of football officials Steve Shaw said earlier this month at SEC Media Days. “Some of the things we would have flagged a player immediately.
“So this year, if a coach comes out onto the field of play, so in the green grass, and protests an officiating decision, it’s an automatic unsportsmanlike conduct foul.”
Coaches will still be able to voice their displeasure. Only now, they must stay on the sideline as they argue and not get on the field of play.
“If they stay on the boundary, they’ll be given all of the latitude that they’ve gotten over all these years, but if they come out onto the field of play, then it’s going to be an unsportsmanlike conduct foul,” Shaw said.
There’s another caveat to the new rule. Just as is the case with players, should a coach get two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls in the same game, he will be disqualified from the contest.
“We’re not doing this to penalize coaches,” Shaw said. “We’re doing this to change the coach’s behavior and keep them in the team area, in the white, if they want to have a discussion with our officials.”
Shaw also outlined several other new rules that will be enforced once the new season dawns. On field goals and extra points, the rule has been simplified to where if a defensive player runs forward and leaps or hurdles the line to block a field goal or extra point, it is a foul.
“The exception to that is if you’re in a stationary position within 1 yard of the line of scrimmage, then it’s legal,” Shaw said. “This doesn’t mean you can’t run forward. You can go through a gap. You can do whatever, but you just can’t leap or hurdle.”
Shaw acknowledges this rule might cut down on a potential great or athletic play, but he says it is necessary from a player safety standpoint.
The horse collar tackle rule will also be expanded this season. Flags used to be thrown only when players brought down an opponent with a hand inside the collar of the shoulder pads. The rule now will also be enforced when a player is brought down by grabbing the nameplate area on the back of the uniform.