The NFL has fined three head coaches $250,000 each for how they treated game officials, according to Sports Illustrated and ESPN. They are Mike Vrabel of the Patriots, Nick Sirianni of the Eagles and Aaron Glenn of the Jets. The news came out Wednesday during the league's fall owners' meetings. The fines are reportedly "in abeyance," which means they're on hold and could be dropped if the coaches behave. The league hasn't said which incidents led to them. If the coaches ever pay, each fine would be the second-largest the NFL has given a head coach. Earlier this month, the league suspended two officials for cursing at or confronting players. After Thursday night's loss to the Bears, Vrabel declined to discuss a penalty because he's "not in very good favor with the officiating department."

The League Had To Back Up Its Officials

The league says coaches crossed a line with officials, and it has to hold that line.

Officials asked for exactly this. When the league suspended two officials this month, the referees' union said officials face "verbal abuse from players and coaches." "Holding officials accountable while ignoring or minimizing the conduct directed at them is neither fair nor an effective way to address this issue," said Scott Green, executive director of the NFL Referees Association. Now the league has punished the coaches too.

The league says it has to hold the line. Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, told reporters Wednesday that sportsmanship was on the owners' agenda. "We've got to hold the line in that area," he said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated broke the story. He called the fines "a pretty stiff penalty and a clear statement."

One of the fined coaches admits he crossed the line. In Week 4 against the Bills, Vrabel left the coaching box and swore at an official. He drew a 15-yard penalty. "I probably shouldn't have swore," he said afterward. "I have to be better in those moments."

But A Fine Nobody Pays Is Just For Show

Critics say the league picked a giant number it never plans to collect.

Critics say the coaches will never pay. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk called the amounts "borderline cartoonish." He wrote that the fines may be "more performative than substantive" and that the money won't actually be collected. The league hasn't said what good behavior means or how long it has to last.

A coach once paid just $50,000 for grabbing an official. Florio pointed out that the league fined then-Patriots coach Bill Belichick $50,000 in 2012 for grabbing a replacement official's arm. Florio also noted that the league fined 49ers owner Jed York $500,000 and suspended him six games after a prostitution-related arrest.

The fines may be a gesture to the refs' union. Florio suggested the league wanted to smooth things over with the union after suspending two of its officials.

The Refs Are The Ones Who Should Pay

Fans and a Jets radio host say the coaches were reacting to bad officiating.

Fans say the officiating is the bigger problem. Jets radio host Jake Asman said the officiating against the Jets this season has been poor and that Glenn "shouldn't be fined a penny." Sports creator Brandon Perna joked, "I'm fining all of these officials $250k until their officiating gets less offensive!"

One fined coach says his swearing was nothing new. Vrabel said his Week 4 complaint "was nothing derogatory" and that he's said it "87 times since I've been a head coach." "I think he was a little sensitive," he said of the official.

Where This Lands

The league and the referees' union want coaches to stop swearing at officials, and Vincent says the league has to hold the line. Florio says a fine that's on hold, with no clear terms, is mostly for show. A Jets radio host says the officiating is the real problem, and Vrabel says he's sworn about calls many times before. A day after the fines came out, Vrabel wouldn't criticize a penalty call.

Sources