The coach could also cost his team a draft pick with his actions:
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been fined $100,000 for interfering with a play in progress during last Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. In addition, because the conduct affected a play on the field, a modification or forfeiture of draft choices will be considered after the final order of the 2014 draft has been determined.
The discipline was issued by NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson.
With 6:26 remaining in the third quarter, Baltimore’s Jacoby Jones returned a kickoff 73 yards to the Pittsburgh 27. During the return, Tomlin – in violation of Rule 13, Section 1, Article 4 of the NFL Rule Book – was in the restricted white border that surrounds the playing field and stepped foot onto the playing field during the play.
Tomlin’s positioning in the white border during play should have resulted in a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The play in question occurred with the Ravens nursing a 13-7 lead in the second half. It looked as though Jones was home free, but there is no question that Tomlin altered his path as seen in this GIF courtesy of Bleacher Report.
A touchdown on that play almost certainly would have buried the Steelers, but Pittsburgh was able to hold Baltimore to a field goal. The Steelers then proceeded to nearly come all the way back; however, they missed a two-point conversion with 1:03 left and lost 22-20.
The result of the game ultimately wasn't impacted by Tomlin's antics, but the NFL clearly felt as though it needed to send a message. Based on how heavily the league came down on Tomlin, it is fair to say that nobody will be trying such a stunt in the near future.
Although replays seem to indicate that Tomlin knew exactly what he was doing, he tried to explain himself after the game. According to Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated, Tomlin said it was simply a case of losing track of where he was on the sidelines.
Tomlin's infraction was so blatant, though, that it's difficult to take his explanation at face value.
Whatever the case, the NFL acted swiftly. Even if in the unlikely event that Tomlin is telling the truth, the NFL had no other choice. Had the league allowed Tomlin to skate by on this one, it would have opened up a can of worms and invited other coaches and sideline personnel to do something similar.
The true injustice in this entire situation is that Tomlin wasn't flagged after the infraction took place. Some believe that Jones should have been awarded a touchdown, but former NFL vice president of officiating and current Fox NFL analyst Mike Pereira revealed that a 15-yard penalty should have been the call.
Even that would have helped the Ravens significantly since they would have been in much better position to score a touchdown.
Chris Wesseling of NFL.com is reporting that the missed call will have a negative impact on the officiating crew that worked the game:
A league source told NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport on Wednesday that the incident will be reflected in the grades for Clete Blakeman's officiating crew.
Officials are graded on every play of every game. When there is an incorrect call, it's referred to as a "downgrade." Blakeman's crew is expected to receive a downgrade for not calling a penalty on Tomlin when he stepped onto the playing field.
In addition to the league-mandated punishment, Tomlin has been punished in terms of the embarrassment he must be feeling since the infraction occurred. Regardless of intent, he has since turned into the laughingstock of the NFL.
At the same time, Tomlin has taken much of the pressure off his team since the talk has been about him rather than the Steelers losing the game.
Tomlin has been a model citizen throughout his NFL tenure, which made his actions on Thanksgiving quite surprising. Now that Tomlin knows he can't get away with it, though, don't expect him to try any funny business moving forward.
