The Reason Jon Gruden Wants To Get Rid Of Instant Replay In The NFL Seems Pretty Obvious To Me

LBS-  In an interview with Men’s Fitness, Gruden said he would like to see the NFL make zero plays reviewable. That’s right — none of them.

“I would eliminate all of it,” Gruden said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “Everything’s disputed now. Was he inbounds? Was it a turnover? It’s taken the juice out of the stadium. There are too many timeouts. Let the people on the field officiate and hold them accountable. Look, there’s going to be some bang-bang plays that have to be officiated. And who’s going to make the decision? The instant replay man in New York City?”



​As aesthetically unpleasing as it has become to watch a game that is constantly being interrupted by video review, I don't think you would find too many people that would disagree that it's necessary. Getting rid of it wouldn't make the players any happier. It wouldn't help coaches sleep at night. It certainly wouldn't make an offcial's job any easier. Most importantly, it would drive fans absolutely bonkers, and that's pretty much the whole point I am trying to make. 

There is one group of people - and one group people only- that would benefit from a life free of instant replay, and Jon Gruden just so happens to be a rather important member. Why of course, it's the sports media. Do you realize how much more controversy would be created if literally every play led to uncertainty? We are one step away from planting a camera inside each player's asshole and we still don't have a definitive description of what constitutes a catch. Can you imagine trying to come to an agreement without a frame by frame high definition breakdown? Of course Jon Gruden wants to get rid of instant replay. That would make his job 1,000x easier. He wouldn't have to spend three hours every Monday from early September until late December verbally powdering the asses of shitty quarterbacks like Josh McCown or Brian Hoyer. He wouldn't have to wax poetic about every single player that's ever played a down in the NFL, or make the same fucking joke about 'spider 2-wide banana' for the billionth time. He wouldn't have any time to. Every single play would be debatable, and debate is what color commentators live for. Jon Gruden doesn't think football would be better without instant replay, he thinks his job would be better without instant replay, and I honestly can't blame him. If you make someone's career more enjoyable then they certainly aren't going to concern themselves with how that change would effect others.