To Punt or Not to Punt (UMAP)

"The Cowboys deserved to lose" [Associated Press 1995]. This terse assessment by John Madden, esteemed sportscaster with the Fox television network and Super Bowl-winning former National Football League (NFL) coach, seemed to have grossly understated the sentiments of nearly every sports analyst in the country. On December 10, 1995, the favored Dallas Cowboys lost to the Philadelphia Eagles after Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer made what came to be the most vilified coaching decision in sports history. Fort Worth Starr columnist Gil LeBreton conceded, "There may have been worse decisions made in the annals of time. The Edsel. The leisure suit. Adam biting on the apple. But this wasn't just a colossal blunder yesterday. This was irrational. This was amateurish. This was . . . Switzercide" [LeBreton 1995]. A headline in the Dallas Morning News pleaded, "Get Barry Out of Here Immediately," with the columnist proceeding to label Switzer the "clown in the cold" who "made a national fool of himself" in making the decision that "should have gotten him fired on the spot" [Galloway 1995]. Even Texas Governor George Bush, Jr., felt compelled to criticize the coach publicly.

Table of Contents:

VILIFICATION

THE DECISION AND ITS OUTCOME

WAS IT THE RIGHT THING TO DO?

THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL

ANALYSIS OF THE MODEL

WAS IT A COLOSSAL GAMBLE?

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR