NFL Rule Change: Saints Owner, Head Coach Celebrate Proposal Success

The New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson and head coach Sean Payton got their wish after the NFL owners on Tuesday voted to approve a rule proposal that allows for offensive and defensive pass interference, including non-calls to be subject to review.

The coaches will be allowed to challenge those calls for the first 28 minutes in each half. In the final two minutes of each half, the calls will be subject to a booth review. The rule change, however, is only in effect for the 2019 season.

The owners passed the rule proposal 31-1 at the annual league meeting held in Phoenix, Tuesday night. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Cincinnati Bengals were the only team to vote against the proposal.

Saints head coach Payton had recently revealed that the committee had agreed to make amends to the rule which will allow the coaches to challenge offensive and defensive pass interferences when there is no flag on the play.

The entire episode of bringing in reviews for pass interference came to the forefront after the Saints were robbed of the chance of making the Super Bowl when a poor call from the referee saw them lose the National Football Conference (NFC) championship game to the Los Angeles Rams.

Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis early on a third-down play late in the fourth quarter. It seemed an obvious penalty as the cornerback took down the receiver without going for the football, but the referee chose to ignore the infringement and allowed play to continue in favor of the Rams.

The Saints would likely have gone on to win the game had they got the penalty call and after the NFL officials’ chief accepted that it was a mistake, it became a major talking point ahead of the Super Bowl. The New Orleans franchise owner Benson wrote to the NFL commissioner, who had the power to overturn the decision, while the fans of the team took to the streets in protest and boycotted the Super Bowl.

And despite the rule amendment not changing the past, Benson and Payton were grateful as they are certain that a similar scenario will not occur again at least in 2019. The Saints head coach believes it is a good change as it is trying to address the two fouls that most impact the games.

“This is what I wanted to happen. That's why I made my statement," Benson said, as quoted on NFL.com. "[The non-call in the NFC title game] will never happen again."

“We think it was a good change," Payton added. "We're trying to address the two fouls that most impact games. ... The last three years coaches are being a little bit more judicious with their challenges. I think that will continue especially the minor fact that you now have a more meaningful play you can challenge."

"South of two minutes it's in replay's hands, but north of two minutes, it's in your hands. I think it won't take back the way we watch a game. I just think it's just two more calls," he added.