There are usually mixed reactions when NFL referees flag passage interference.
League policy does not include language to explain what constitutes pass interference, so it is still considered a judgment call.
Jon Gruden, who coached Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl title in 2002, weighed on the oft-criticized rule.
In the NFL, when the referees call pass interference, the ball is placed at the spot of the foul. There have been instances where a pass interference call resulted in a team receiving 25 or more penalty yards before the next snap.
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Raiders head coach Jon Gruden runs off the field during halftime during a game against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 10, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. (Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
After admitting that pass interference was one of his biggest concerns for the NFL, Gruden suggested the league adopt a similar punishment college football enforces. Instead of placing the ball where the foul occurred, Gruden would prefer that the ball only travel 15 yards per penalty.
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“I would make it a college rule, honestly, because some of these pass interference calls are impacting the game, just one play there,” Gruden said during a recent appearance on the “Excuse me“podcast.
Gruden then brought up the subjective nature of the call.
“I don’t think there’s a common thread in what does and doesn’t get done by interference,” he said. “I think this team calls it a little bit differently than that team. That’s a penalty right now that, I think, has taken over a lot of these games.”
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden speaks through his headset during the first half of a game against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 10, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Scooteri)
After the podcast co-host suggested that an NFL quarterback could simply throw a pass under the ball and be rewarded with clear yardage, Gruden argued that pass interference should only be used in situations where it is clear and “obvious” was that an offense had been committed.
The NFL logo prior to a game between the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on December 25, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
“Jerry Austin taught me that pass interference should call itself. We should all sit in a bar in Chicago and say, ‘That’s PI.’ It should be a regular, clear pass interference. Otherwise, these guys have to play. That’s my feeling.”
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In 2019, the league approved a proposal that made pass interference a reviewable action. The decision appeared to be in response to a controversial play in the NFC championship game of the 2018 season.
Referees did not call what many believed was pass interference during the NFC title game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. The Rams defeated the Saints in overtime and advanced to the Super Bowl.
NFL teams’ ability to review pass interference was dropped in 2020.
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