Few football minds are as revered or as respected as that of former NFL head coach Tony Dungy.
A man of deep faith, Dungy’s demeanor and attitude towards football has garnered him a number of fans since he retired from the coaching sidelines in 2009.
(Dungy was also a solid player in his day, winning a ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1978, and has the curious distinction of being the last NFL player to both throw and catch an interception in the same game.)
After retiring as both player and coach, Dungy moved smoothly into the NBC Sports booth, adding commentary and analysis for the network on a weekly basis.
But at the end of the day, Dungy is still a fan of football.
As a fan, he had a major bone to pick with the league after taking in a Turkey Day filled with stuffing and football.
And like most NFL fans, Dungy’s eyes wandered towards a frequent target: the referees.
When you watch NFL football all day long you just come to the conclusion our officials don’t know what pass interference is.
We tried making it reviewable a couple of years ago and that didn’t help. But these are monster penalties that are not called consistently at all.— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) November 28, 2025
“When you watch NFL football all day long you just come to the conclusion our officials don’t know what pass interference is,” Dungy bemoaned. “We tried making it reviewable a couple of years ago and that didn’t help.
“But these are monster penalties that are not called consistently at all.”
Indeed, one doesn’t even need that sharp of a memory to recall at least one recent game that effectively ended on the most dubious of pass interference calls.
(For the unaware, pass interference is a penalty that can go against either a defensive or offensive player. It’s more commonly levied against defensive players who illegally impede an opponent’s opportunity to catch a pass. When called on an offensive player, it means the offensive player illegally created separation from the defender, most often seen with illegal pick plays.)
Here are just two examples of the NFL’s pass interference problem, both from Awful Announcing:
Cris Collinsworth: “Oh, come on! Come on! That is terrible! That is an absolutely terrible call that’s going to decide this football game! If anything, it’s an offensive push!”
Another brutal NFL pass interference call strikes. 🏈🦓🎙️ #NFL #SNF https://t.co/XYnF7DejvM pic.twitter.com/TRkNZ7kGJG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 17, 2025
As Dungy noted, these are “monster penalties” for a reason: Unlike in college football, where pass interference is an automatic 15-yard penalty, in the NFL, pass interference is a spot foul, meaning that the offense will get to move to whatever spot the penalty occurred at.
That means that a pass interference call could range anywhere from 5 yards down the field… to 99 yards.
Given that sort of game-changing impact, it should be little surprise that Dungy — who played defense in the day, and was a defensive-minded head coach — has such an issue with these monumental penalties that disproportionately affect defensive players.
Did you watch any NFL games over Thanksgiving?
It also shouldn’t be a surprise that a number of fans agreed and echoed Dungy’s thoughts in the comments below.
And for those who didn’t agree? Dungy calmly replied to them, too.
I had a good day watching football. I just think pass interference is called very inconsistently. And they are sometimes 40-yard penalties. Doesn’t make it a cheap seat gripe. It’s just a statement of fact made from watching 3 games with DNs and WRs making contact on 40-50…
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) November 28, 2025
“Don’t like this coach,” one X user posted under Dungy’s post. “Have great respect for you and don’t like this cheap seats kind of gripes. Doesn’t reflect well. Anyway, hope you still had a good holiday.”
“I had a good day watching football,” Dungy answered. “I just think pass interference is called very inconsistently. And they are sometimes 40-yard penalties. Doesn’t make it a cheap-seat gripe. It’s just a statement of fact made from watching 3 games with [defensive backs] and [wide receivers] making contact on 40-50 passes.
“Anybody who watched the games would say the same thing.”
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