NEW ORLEANS — Saints head coach Sean Payton says that the possibility of challenging or using replay on a non-call like the one that likely cost the team a berth in the Super Bowl is being added for consideration by the NFL owners.
Payton said a third option to the proposals on instant replay – labeled 6B – would allow a coach to challenge a call of offensive or defensive pass interference call or the lack of a call.
RELATED: Will a 'video official' be at NFL games in the future? Saints 'no-call' could make it a reality
However, Payton also seemed resigned to the fact that no change may come anytime soon.
“I don’t know if 6B will pass. When you talk about adding a flag to a play, there will be concern by owners, but I’m concerned about this happening again.”
Speaking to a group of media assembled at a breakfast prior to a scheduled vote on rules changes, Payton decried the fact that the game is not evolving as fast as the technology available.
“Millennials can’t believe we’re going to leave today without a potential solution to this,” he said.
Payton said that the play that cost the Saints can’t happen again. He seemed to indicate that he was also open to a ‘sky judge,’ or an official that can look at the same replays that the fans get to see.
“At some point, they’re going to have an official have the same view as the fan has,” he said.
Payton said all of the proposals, including the one added last night, are only being discussed because of the NFC Championship non-call, but he said it shouldn’t have come to that. He thinks the league should be preparing in advance to utilize the new technologies to make the game better.
“We need to do a better job preparing for where we want to be in 2028.”
Payton also told reporters that any rule change should not be limited to postseason. He said the Saints benefitted and the Pittsburgh Steelers were hurt by a bogus pass interference call on the Steelers which set the Saints up for a touchdown in a game the Steelers badly needed.