NFL owners are expected to vote Tuesday on the “tush push,” the quarterback sneak made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles, and Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon could have a say in whether the proposal passes.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni jokingly said Sunday he expects an ally in Gannon, his defensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022. Gannon watched on the Philadelphia sidelines in 2022 when Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts revolutionized the controversial play.
Two other former Eagles coordinators under Sirianni are now NFL head coaches, and he is counting on their support, too. Former Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is the head coach in New Orleans, and former offensive coordinator Shane Steichen is the head coach in Indianapolis.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Sirianni told NFL Network. “All I will say about it is Gannon, Steichen and Moore better vote for it.”
“They are in the [head coach] position right now because of that play. So all three, I better have those three votes right there and the Eagles’ vote. I at least know we have four.”
Tush push will be banned if 24 of the 32 vote for rule to pass
For the proposal to pass, 24 of the 32 NFL owners have to vote for it. If the Eagles, Cardinals, Saints and Colts vote to prevent the play’s ban, only five more votes would be needed to stop the proposal.
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This is the third year the tush push has been discussed at the owners’ meetings, but the first time a formal rules proposal has been presented.
The proposal to ban the tush push was instigated by the Green Bay Packers, who lost twice to the Eagles last season. ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler reported the proposal has support within the league’s competition committee. She also reported there was “heated” discussion about the proposed ban at the owners' meetings in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Kahler reported that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was in a “animated” discussion Sunday with Rams head coach Sean McVay and Bills head coach Sean McDermott about the potential change in rules.
Green Bay has cited “player safety and pace of play” to ban the play, although multiple sources told ESPN there was no injury data to support the ban.
“It was all subjective," one club executive told ESPN at the owners' meetings.
The Packers’ proposal is to “prohibit an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap.”
ESPN reported that only the Eagles and Bills ran the tush push more than five times last season. There were 35,415 plays in the NFL last season and the tush push was run only 101 times (0.28 percent), according to ESPN.
Last season, the Cardinals ran the tush push three times, all against the Chargers, according to the team’s website. Backup quarterback Clayton Tune converted 1-of-3 attempts.