NFL to change coin toss rule for 2016 after Packers-Cardinals playoff fiasco
Aaron Rodgers probably won't be a fan of the new rule
By
John Breech
•
1 min read
If an NFL referee somehow manages to botch a coin toss during a game next season, he'll know exactly what he's supposed to do to fix the mistake, unlike last year, thanks to a minor alteration in the league's 2016 rulebook.
Although this year's version of the rulebook hasn't been officially released yet, former NFL VP of officiating Mike Pereira managed to get his hands on a copy, which detailed the new coin toss rule.
Here's how the new rule reads: "If the coin does not turn over in the air or is compromised in any way, the ref is to toss it again."
The rule also states that "Captain's choice stands," meaning that the team that originally called heads or tails will be stuck with their original pick and won't get to make a second choice.
If the rule change had been in place last season, the NFL could've avoided the overtime fiasco that took place during the Packers-Cardinals playoff game.
WTF? Did another coin flip? pic.twitter.com/xM3o8cKDia
— ⓂarcusD (@_MarcusD_) January 17, 2016
In that game, referee Clete Blakeman attempted to flip the coin before overtime, but the coin never flipped while in the air, which caused a major controversy.
Aaron Rodgers had called tails and the coin landed on heads.
After the botched flip, Rodgers and his teammates immediately complained about Blakeman's flip and asked for a re-flip.
Blakeman ended up re-flipping the coin, but he didn't let Rodgers call it in the air on the second flip, which once again made the Packers quarterback mad. Rodgers has a strategy when he picks heads or tails.
"Clete had it on heads. He was showing heads. So I called tails. And it didn't flip," Rodgers said. "It just tossed up in the air and did not turn over at all. It just landed on the ground. So obviously that was not right."
Rodgers was basically fuming after the overtime coin flip, and that's mostly because a coin flip only happened because Rodgers threw a miraculous 41-yard Hail Mary on the final play of regulation that ended up forcing overtime.
Besides the coin flip rule, the NFL also made several other minor rule changes, which you can read about here.
The rules are expected to become official when the league releases its 2016 rulebook later in June.
