Big Ten coaches will have to stay put this fall
MADISON - Paul Chryst generally remains composed on the Wisconsin sideline and avoids venturing out onto the field to debate calls with the officials.
Big Ten coaches who leave their sideline to jaw at officials in 2017 likely will pay a price as their team will be penalized 15 yards.
“If you’re going to come out on the field as a coach or as a player or any team personnel, come out and challenge a call, you get a 15-yard penalty immediately,” Bill Carollo, the Big Ten’s coordinator of football officials, said recently during the league meetings. “You can certainly come out during timeouts, attend to your players, injured players … do some coaching …
“We don’t have a problem in the Big Ten as far as our coaches and their demeanor, but across the country it's a national point of emphasis. So that's a major area that we want to take a look at.”
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, arguably the league’s most volatile coach on the sideline, last season drew a critical unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third quarter of the
Wolverines’ 30-27 double-overtime loss at Ohio State.
Harbaugh didn’t leave the sideline but after the Wolverines were called off-side, he tossed his play sheet into the air and onto the field and took off his headset and smashed it onto the ground.
After the two penalties, Ohio State had a first and goal at the Wolverines’ 4 and scored a touchdown two plays later to pull within 17-14.
Carollo said that officials wouldn’t tolerate such behavior from players so coaches should be held to the same standard.
“We wouldn’t take a tenth of what some coaches do and say from a player and this is the adult in the game setting the example,” he said. “It has gotten to the point that (coaches) are holding court outside the numbers.”
Perhaps the most animated Chryst has been on the UW sideline occurred in the 2015 home finale against Northwestern. He was on the field during and after a video review overturned Jazz Peavy’s late touchdown catch in a 13-7 loss to the Wildcats.
Chryst playfully brought that game up while talking to reporters about the new rule.
“There was a game we played a couple years ago,” he deadpanned. “It was kind of snowing. And we had a play that looked a lot like something. I remember being out (there) on that one…
“But you’ve got to keep your poise. They don’t want you on the field challenging a call. It is a good rule.”
Players will also have to be more careful when tackling an opponent from behind.
In previous seasons, a player who brought down a ball carrier by placing his hand inside the collar or shoulder pads and dragging down was assessed a 15-yard penalty.
This season, players can draw a flag without getting their hand inside the collar or pads.
“Now we've expanded it to the nameplate area,” Carollo said. “It doesn't have to be on the inside of the collar, just above the numbers in the nameplate area.”
According to Chryst, the UW coaches have addressed that change with the players and will emphasize it once full-contact work begins in camp.
“We’ve talked about the rules in our meetings,” he said. “I think it will be interesting.
“We’ll spend a lot of time talking with them.”