I think most NFL coaches deserve to be fired.

This may sound like a Monday morning quarterback rant on steroids, but week in and week out I am amazed by some of the mistakes they make.

I have no problem with a coach who has a losing record. That is not grounds for firing. And I appreciate that NFL coaches have a monumental job keeping a group of athletes focused, motivated to destroy their bodies, and on occasion out of jail.

I simply cannot believe they can make such blunders with clock management.

You get paid millions of dollars to win a football game. Quite often this comes down to running out the clock, or getting a field goal team on for a kick. It seems like every week I watch a coach blow this. (And I don’t even watch a lot of games)

Just last week, we saw the Steelers miss an opportunity to get a field goal before the end of the first half. I’m not sure who made that call to throw to the middle of the field, but if Baltimore didn’t get that stupid penalty on their last punt return (starting them at the 15 instead of the 40) and avoid that game breaking interception, that game could easily have ended 17-16 Ravens. Mike Tomlin would have had a long off season thinking about not getting that field goal.

What about Ken Whisenhunt trying to run out the clock at the end of their victory against the Eagles? He runs three plays. On the first one, Warner nearly trips and fumbles on the hand off. They don’t get the first down and end up punting with a few seconds left.

I believe it wasn’t even necessary.

Instead, have Warner go back and just wait a few seconds before kneeling down. Hell, have him run backwards ten yards three times. It would have successfully run out the clock without them ever needing to punt. That is a lot less risk than a long snap, a punt, and the possibility of a penalty on a Hail Mary.

Okay, one more.

The week before, the coach of the Titans (vs. the Ravens) didn’t use one of his timeouts early enough. He could have saved 40 seconds by calling the time out while the Ravens had the ball, instead of saving maybe 10 seconds calling it while he had the ball on his last series. Would those 30 seconds have gotten them down the field? Who knows, but you’ve had your team busting their butts all game, and as a coach you deserve to give them every chance to win. I’m amazed how often coaches don’t.

I realize it might be a little easier for me sitting back on my sofa to make these assessments. The coach is trying to get a lot of things done. It’s tough. Sometimes you have a wide receiver screaming in your ear about something or other. Maybe you’re thinking about how you’re going to dodge the Gatorade shower (haven’t we had enough of these?). This does make it difficult to multiply the number of downs by 40 seconds (plus the number of seconds you can spend per play).

So, rather than complain further, I’ve decided it’s time to do something about this. I’m going to market a little device coaches can attach to their wrists. You enter the amount of time left, the number of timeouts your opponents have, and your field position, and it will tell you the best way to run out the clock. It even takes into account the 2 minute warning! (We consulted a rocket scientist for this one.)

You can order one now for $19.95 at http://www.ukankoachinthenfl.com .  Act now and we’ll throw in free the “Challenge Flag Cost Benefit analysis software.”

Not a bad investment to save your million dollar a year coaching job in my opinion.

ukankoachinthenfl.com gear is copyright/trademark Allan Gross 2009. All rights reserved.

P.S. If you went to the website, then you really can be a coach in the NFL.