Lions, Texans and an Angry Coach

posted on: November 23, 2012
author: Brian Lomax, Ed.D.

During the Houston Texans vs. Detroit Lions football game on Thanksgiving Day, there was a controversial touchdown awarded to the Texans’ Justin Forsett after an 81 yard run.  Forsett’s elbow and knee appeared to be down on the play, but the officials never whistled the play dead, and to his credit, Forsett kept running.  In the NFL, all scoring plays are reviewed by video replay and it seemed certain that this touchdown was going to be brought back because Forsett was obviously down long before he scored.  Enter Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz.

Schwartz was so angry with the non-call on the play, that he did something that would ensure there would be no review of the touchdown and the score would stand.  From the AP story as seen on the Huffington Post:

“I knew the rule – you can’t challenge on a turnover or a scoring play – but I was so mad that I overreacted,” said Schwartz, whose temper got the best of him during a postgame handshake last year with San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh. “I had the flag in my hand before he even scored because he was obviously down.”

Schwartz’s action invoked an unsportsmanlike penalty which in turn nullified any review of the previous play.  Thanks Coach!

There are those who believe that anger and emotion have a place on the field and on the sidelines.  This is an example that shows they don’t.  Read Schwartz’s quote again.  He got so mad that he overreacted.  When you get angry, your body chemistry is changed to a point where you don’t think well and you don’t make good decisions.  That’s not a good place to be for an athlete and it certainly isn’t for a coach.  Good decision making is a major part of mental toughness, and coaches need to be mentally tough as well.  They are performers and their team is counting on them to do things that will help them all win.

The best coaches rarely get emotional on the sidelines.  They know that anger takes them “out of the game”, and so they are usually calm, rational and motivating.  In many ways, the coach should be the calmest guy on the field as everyone is looking to him to lead the way.  You can’t do that if you’re so angry you can’t think straight.