Sean Payton called for an onside kick to begin the second half of a Super Bowl. Vince Lombardi let Bart Starr sneak his way to an “Ice Bowl” victory. Paul Westhead moved rookie point guard Magic Johnson to center to win an NBA championship.
These guys didn’t do any of that. Here are the 10 biggest coaching decision backfires of all time:
10. Dennis Green Doesn’t Try to Win in Regulation
The Minnesota Vikings had lost just one game during the 1998 season thanks to what was, at the time, the most potent offense in NFL history. Randall Cunningham threw 34 touchdown passes during the regular season, and Randy Moss caught 17 of them. Yet, with the score tied at 27 in the NFC Championship Game against the Atlanta Falcons, head coach Dennis Green decided to run the clock out and take his chances in overtime despite having a 3rd-and-3 from their own 30 with 30 seconds and two timeouts remaining. Yeah, they lost that one, and haven’t been as good since. (Photo credit: Jamie Squire/Allsport)
9. P.J. Carlesimo Tells Latrell Sprewell to “Put a Little Mustard” on His Passes
Of course, nobody would have expected a four-time All-Star like Sprewell choking Carlesimo for 15 to 20 seconds to be a reasonable reaction to such a simple request at a team practice in 1997. Throw in the fact that Sprewell threatened to kill Carlesimo and returned to the practice court 20 minutes later to beat the snot out of him, and we’re pretty sure Carlesimo would have called out somebody like Muggsy Bogues instead if he had a chance to live that day over again. (Photo credit: JOHN G. MABANGLO/AFP/Getty Images)
8. The Soviets Pull the Goalie
The USA Men’s Hockey Team’s 1980 “Miracle on Ice” might not have happened if Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov wouldn’t have benched Vladislav Tretiak with the score tied at two apiece at the end of the first period of their semifinal game. Tretiak was considered by most to be the best goalie in the world at the time and had led the Soviets to gold at the 1972 and 1976 games. The move led to one USA coach calling Tikhonov “nuts.” (Photo credit: B Bennett/Getty Images)
7. Jason Garrett Ices His Own Kicker
Using a timeout to ice the opposing team’s kicker has become almost as trendy as Justin Bieber hate mail. But Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett did it to his own kicker Dan Bailey right before he put one through the uprights from 49 yards out for what would have been a 16-13 victory over the Cardinals in 2011. Bailey would miss his next kick, the Cards would win it in overtime, and the Cowboys would miss the postseason by one game. (Photo credit: Norm Hall/Getty Images)
6. Joe Torre Goes With Jeff Weaver Instead of Mariano Rivera
The general rule of thumb is that when you have the greatest closer in the history of Major League Baseball, you use him. But with the score tied at three apiece in the 11th inning of Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, Yankees manager Joe Torre opted for Weaver instead of Rivera. Weaver managed to get through the 11th, but Torre brought him out again for the 12th, and Florida’s Alex Gonzalez made him pay by hitting a walk-off home run. (Photo credit: James Keivom/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
5. Dodgers Manager Chuck Dressen Allows the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”
Ralph Branca had already given up two home runs to Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson in 1951 before he was summoned by Dressen to face him again in the third and final game of the National League tie-breaker series. Even more baffling was the fact that Branca had thrown 135 pitches in a losing effort just two days earlier. Dressen’s hunch ended up being pure garbage, as Thomson hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball history and sent the Giants to the World Series. (Photo credit: Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)
4. Foolish Play Call Leads to the “Miracle at the Meadowlands“
You play to win the game, OK? I mean, what can you say about a guy who calls for a running play when all he had to do was tell his quarterback to take a knee? In fact, New York Giants offensive coordinator Bob Gibson was so out of his mind in 1978 as his team held a 17-12 lead over the visiting Eagles with just 20 seconds left, that he called a running play even though the quarterback had taken a knee on the prior play. It doesn’t take an Ivy League scholar to figure out what happened next. Even though running back Larry Csonka said, “Don’t give me the ball,” in the huddle, he got it anyway. The exchange went awry, and Herm Edwards picked up the fumble and ran 26 yards for the game-winning score. Gibson was fired after the game and never called another NFL play. (Photo credit: AP via ESPN.com)
3. Marty Mornhinweg Defers in Overtime
Mornhinweg lost 27 games in two years as the head coach of the Detroit Lions, but none was more infamous than the 20-17 overtime loss where he chose the wind instead of the ball despite the fact that overtime games at the time were sudden death. In that overtime period, Mornhinweg also accepted a penalty even though declining it meant Chicago would have had to attempt a 52-yard field goal into a 17 MPH wind. He was fired five games later. (Photo credit: Danny Moloshok/Getty Images)
2. Bill Belichick Goes for It on 4th and 2 From His Own 28
Up six points with just over two minutes remaining in a Sunday night matchup against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts in 2009, Belichick’s New England Patriots faced a 4th and 2 situation from their own 28-yard line. When Tom Brady took the field instead of New England’s punter, most thought the Pats were either going to try to draw the Colts offside or make them burn their final timeout. That wasn’t the case, as Brady’s pass to Kevin Faulk was caught shy of the first down marker, and the Colts went on to win the game 35-34. (Photo credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
1. Grady Little Lets Pedro Martinez Keep Pitching
Pedro Martinez was one of the best pitchers of the last 30 years, but according to Wikipedia, his ERA in 2003 nearly tripled when he went beyond the 100-pitch threshold. With the Red Sox sporting a three-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, with “three well-rested relievers” waiting in the bullpen, Little instead left Martinez in the game. The Yankees would score three runs to tie the game, and Aaron Boone would hit a game-winning home run in extra innings to devastate Red Sox Nation yet again. (Photo credit: Al Tielemans /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
