Some NFL coaches had a direct hand in the league’s decision to call more taunting penalties this year, but we can say for certain that Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians was not one of them.
Arians has been fairly vocal in expressing his opposition to the NFL’s taunting emphasis. He reiterated that stance on Friday and joked that players may soon have to tape their mouths shut.
Bucs coach Bruce Arians today on the penalty we all love to hate pic.twitter.com/dGc2OkL33p
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) November 12, 2021
Arians mentioned how players aren’t even allowed to “look to the other bench.” That was a reference to the controversial taunting penalty that was called in Monday night’s game between the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers. Cassius Marsh was flagged after he stared down Pittsburgh’s sideline following a big play on third down. Marsh’s Bears teammates thought the penalty was “BS” and voiced complaints about it.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who is on the NFL’s Competition Committee, said this week that he is in favor of the strict taunting rules.
#Steelers' Mike Tomlin, a member of the #NFL competition committee says he IS a fan of the taunting flags. Says, "We're just trying to clean our game up." And: "We understand that people playing it at a lower level watch us and often mimic us and how we conduct ourselves."
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) November 9, 2021
Most people agree with Arians. Some of the taunting penalties we have seen called this year seem totally unnecessary. Unfortunately, the NFL has no plans to loosen up.
