Report: 10-second defensive substitution proposal withdrawn, won't be voted on
Can the debate finally be shut down for the offseason?
The controversial rule proposal that would have allowed defenses 10 seconds to substitute players before every play and prevent offenses from snapping the ball with more than 29 seconds left on the play clock has been reportedly withdrawn.
The person spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made.
After a conference call by the football rules committee, it was agreed the so-called 10-second rule would not be given to the playing rules oversight panel on Thursday for approval.
Coaches like Alabama's Nick Saban and Arkansas' Bret Bielema were for the proposal, which was in the name of player safety. However, they were in the minority, and many college football coaches had spoken out against the pitch, including Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze. He said that he and other SEC coaches organized an effort to call coaches for support against the rule.
On Tuesday in an interview with ESPN, Saban made a comparison to cigarettes when discussing pace of play.
However, if it's the end of the tempo issue, it'll be a short-term one. Now that the issue has been discussed for the first months of the offseason, there will undoubtedly be many studies done and evidence gathered over the next year or two. And if that data concludes that there could be a player safety risk because teams are running more plays per game then this will become a hot-button issue once again.
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is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg
