Tom Coughlin Injury Video: Why Coaches Need to Stay Clear of Sidelines

Week 16 of the NFL season gave us yet another example of how the sidelines of a football game can be just as dangerous as being on the field.

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin took a massive shot to his legs after Giants running back D.J. Ware was tackled into the veteran coach. Head coaches should stay clear from the sidelines at all costs to avoid accidents like this.

I’m not suggesting that they sit in the booth or on the benches, but do they have to be that close to the field—especially when they are 65 years old?

We have seen iconic figures like Joe Paterno get blasted on the sidelines, we have seen Super Bowl-winning coaches like Sean Payton drilled and now we see Coughlin. When will coaches learn to back up a few yards?

It’s going to take a life-threatening injury before anything changes and I understand that, but guys who are elderly shouldn’t even be 10 yards from the field.

They could even stand where they are now, but not anywhere close to the positioning of the ball. If the ball is at the 50-yard line, then the 40-yard line would be perfect because it’s behind the play.

Anything in front of the play has the potential of an absolute disaster.

Roger Goodell and the NFL are all about protecting the players with their rule changes and discipline on collisions; how about they take some initiative and enforce their rule for how close players and coaches can stand on the sideline? I'm all for moving it an extra two or three yards back. 

It’s always smart to enforce rules before the ultimate consequence occurs. If they enforced their rule it would basically eliminate coaches from being drilled on the sidelines.

These collisions on the sidelines are occurring more-and-more every year. It’s time for a change.