Coaches in the NFL have been using red challenge flags for more than a decade, yet it’s still a problem for them to remember which pocket they put the dangling thing in.
Coaches are constantly patting themselves down, pulling papers and pencils out, frantic to find their flag in time to challenge a play, much like a grumpy father at the airport attempting to get all of his possessions into the bins at security. Some players have resorted to keeping their flag in a sock so that they don’t have to go through the tedious process of digging through pockets, but others haven’t figured it out yet, which can lead to some sideline hilarity.
On Sunday, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll took it to a new level when he went looking for his flag to challenge a play and all he found was his electric hand warmer, which he placed at the official’s feet to request a review.
The best part is that the official recognizes it and stops play, and now I’d like coaches to throw strange objects on the field instead of flags to contest calls. It was later discovered to be a hand warmer, but at first, everyone assumed he had thrown a flip phone, which felt extremely Carroll and jokes were going about on social media.
