The focus is on the NFL Scouting Combine this week but the annual League Meeting will take place in Palm Beach next month. Among the festivities will be a list of proposals for owners to vote on that could mean more changes for the sport before kickoff next fall.
One of the popular topics of conversation over the past few days has centered around the Philadelphia Eagles and their signature "tush push" play. The Green Bay Packers have already confirmed that they made a proposal to ban the play from the NFL.
Head coaches from around the league have differing opinions on the tush push. For instance, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and current Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris believes the play should've been outlawed years ago. Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott echoed a similar sentiment, though his team has used the tush push the second-most times since 2022, per ESPN.
"It should've been illegal three years ago. No, the tush push play, I've always never been a big fan," Morris said at the NFL Combine. "There's just no other play in our game where you can absolutely get behind somebody and push them, pull them off, do anything."
On the flip side, longtime Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles doesn't hold the same stance. He says it's up to other teams to stop it as removing the tush push takes away creativity from the game.
"I think it's a rugby element but at the same time when a team gets something they're good at, you gotta learn how to stop it. I don't think the first thing you can do is try to take it out of the ball game," Bowles said at the combine. "That takes away the creativity of everybody trying to do everything else. You gotta learn how to stop it. Until you learn how to stop it they gonna continue it, if it's not broke don't fix it."
Bowles has a point. Philadelphia obviously has a lot of success with the play but they've put in a ton of work to make that happen. The formation even has multiple different options to work with that have fooled defenses in the past while expecting quarterback Jalen Hurts to just power up the middle.
In the past, the NFL and competition committee haven't elected to take any action regarding the play. It'll be interesting to see if that changes next month as more figures around the league publicly offer their thoughts on the tush push.
