The reboot of the XFL came back in a big way as fans were allowed access to various things not seen in the National Football League. The league had live mics on the coaches and it gave us access to their play-calling decisions live on air.
It was great for fans to hear as it provided insight into what the coaches are thinking, but it really sucked for the coaches as it left them feeling exposed.
D.C. Defenders coach Pep Hamilton coached his team to victory in the XFL’s first game of the season, but when he watched the replay of the game, he realized just how much info came out during the live telecast.
He told Washington radio station “The Sports Junkies” he had to change things up for the rest of the season.
“I’ve been up overnight trying to change some of the calls. I think everybody in D.C. knows by know that ‘even’ is [running] to the right and ‘odd’ is to the left. So 3.3 million people know whether we’re running to the right or running to the left,” Hamilton said earlier this week. “We knew that would be a factor, but not until I watched the broadcast late [Sunday] night where I said, ‘Oh, man. We got to do something different.'”
Seattle Dragons coach Jim Zorn told the Seattle Times he was “absolutely shocked about the amount of audio that was played and how many of their calls were broadcasted.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral UFL stories via Google! Follow Us
“I think it gave a fan a chance to hear and see something they’ve never heard before, but I felt very exposed,” Zorn said. “Information on a football team has to be guarded a little bit, so we just got it right out there. I know it had to be fun for everybody, but not super fun for me to reveal all that stuff. But I was glad I didn’t stutter or fumble the play calls.”
Zorn could be seen covering his mouth during the game, not realizing ESPN was broadcasting the play anyway.
Dallas Renegades coach Bob Stoops had this to say:
“I was ready for it,” Stoops said during his press conference Sunday. “Hey, I’m in here to do my part, to help the league in anyway I can. So that means participating differently than I had before. Yeah, there’s people everywhere. Locker room, following you around. So, hey, I get it. I enjoyed watching it yesterday, the little bit I got to see. Hearing the play calls, the interviews. It’s great access for people that are interested in it. I think it will just help continue to grow.”
You should fully expect coaches to switch it up going forward, probably rely more on hand signals.
