One of the most significant controversies of the NFL offseason has arisen from teams’ efforts to ban the Philadelphia Eagles’ ‘Tush Push’ play. But while the vote on the matter has been tabled until next week, comedian Brad Williams offered NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a potential alternative.
And the suggestion just so happened to originate from longtime college football head coach Mike Leach. Allegedly.
Representing his beloved Denver Broncos as a celebrity fan at an NFL Draft event in Green Bay on Wednesday, Williams grabbed the microphone and made his pitch. And if you thought the idea of a team lining up in a bunched-together goal-line formation and shoving its quarterback across the line to gain a goal line was polarizing, wait until you hear the Starfish comedian’s suggestion.
“Obviously one of the big hot topics over this offseason is the play ‘the Tush Push, the ‘Brotherly Shove,’ if it’s gonna be banned or not,” Williams told Goodell. “But my question is, the late football coach Mike Leach, it was recently discovered that he had suggested putting a little person in the backfield and actually tossing him over the line for short-yardage situations.”
As the room erupted in laughter, Goodell stood up and shook Williams’ hand.
“You’re in,” he told Williams.
“I have a job!” the comedian shouted.
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As for the Leach angle to all of this, a recent thread on the NFL’s Reddit page insisted that the former Texas Tech and Mississippi State head coach had once suggested a staff meeting. While the source of the story remains unclear, it went viral after being picked up by multiple websites, including Barstool Sports.
At this point, it is unclear whether the story regarding Leach’s suggestion is legitimate or not. Either way, it has now made its way to the most powerful person in football, Roger Goodell, highlighting both the power of the internet and the remarkable reputation of Leach, which was so wild that it became believable in the first place.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.