Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin finds himself at the center of the NFL’s hottest rules debate. As a key voice on the competition committee, he’s helping decide whether to ban the controversial “Tush Push” play – the rugby-style quarterback sneak made famous by the Eagles and Bills.
The Packers have officially proposed outlawing the tactic, and owners will make their final decision Tuesday during this week’s league meetings.
Tomlin admitted Monday that when he first saw the play in action, he was shocked it was legal – especially since the NFL already prohibits similar pushing techniques on field goal attempts.
“That being said, you hate to be against it because when people are innovative, you want to respect that,” Tomlin said at the AFC coaches breakfast. “There have been some teams that have been more innovative in that regards, and you hate to penalize them for it.”
Tomlin advocates for prioritizing player safety in the NFL. However, he noted that the current injury findings remain incomplete.
“There’s not a big enough sample size to point to statistics,” he said. “I and everyone else are just listening to the perspective of the medical experts, as opposed to statistics. … A lot of other plays, we’ve got a much larger volume to choose from. There are 40,000 plays a year in football, and I think it was 170 or so ‘Tush Pushes,’ to put that in perspective.”
Tomlin opposes the Detroit Lions’ proposal to rank teams solely by overall record, even if a wild-card team has more wins than a division champion.
“I’m a division purist,” he said. “I love the rivalries that is division play. I love the structure of our scheduling, the highlights. … I think the division winner should get a home playoff game.”
