As the Green Bay Packers' proposal to ban the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback sneak play—known as the tush push—gains popularity among the league's competition committee, one anonymous NFL coach told ESPN that he believes the ban is rooted in envy.
"It's weak," the anonymous coach told ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler. "It's punishing a team who became excellent at executing the play. In 2022, when Philadelphia was the only team doing it, there was a concern that it made the game less compelling because fourth-and-short was no longer in doubt."
"Then other teams copied it, and they can't do it as well. It reeks of jealousy."
Since 2022, Philadelphia has run a variation of the QB sneak in which the halfback and tight end line up behind the QB, then help to push the signal-caller over the line to gain or goal line as the offensive line bulldozes forward. The Eagles have been wildly successful at the play, with a conversion rate of 86% compared to the league average of 76% in the '22 and '23 seasons.
In '24, only Philadelphia and the Buffalo Bills ran the tush push more than five times. The play has sparked injury concerns for the rugby-like scrum it creates, as well as fear that it has become unstoppable for opposing defenses to contain. This offseason marks the third time the competition committee has reviewed the play, but the first that a proposal to ban it has been brought to the table.
League-wide response to a potential ban has been mixed. The Eagles, understandably, oppose the ban, with coach Nick Sirianni telling reporters at the scouting combine in February that he was "almost a little insulted" by teams trying to avoid the play.
Bills coach Sean McDermott, citing the injury risk with the play, and Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris, are among the proponents of a ban.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles and newly-hired New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn, both old-school defensive minds, have expressed their opinion that it's up to the defense to find a way to stop the tush push, not for the league to outlaw the play.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is also in favor of the play's legality, given its limited "injury data."
As Kahler reported, a discussion about the tush push ban at a Sunday football operations meeting, which included Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, turned "heated." The league will vote on all proposals, including the tush push ban, on Tuesday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Anonymous NFL Head Coach Rips Proposed Ban of Eagles' Tush Push: 'Reeks of Jealousy'.
