Saying Merril Hoge and Mike Sherman know football would be a gross understatement. Between Hoge’s NFL playing days and time spent as an ESPN analyst and Sherman’s 35 years of high school, college and NFL coaching experience — they have every level of the game covered.
Now the two are adding something new to their resumes; both will be taking over as head coaches for the Your Call Football. YCF will use technology to enable fan-controlled football with the coaches hand over the play-calling reins to you, the spectator. Those who download the upcoming YCF app will have a choice between a package of plays presented by the two coaches and then see them executed on the field in a live, broadcasted game.
“I thought it was nuts,” Hoge said when asked his initial thoughts on YCF. “I thought, ‘This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.’ That’s because I didn’t understand it at all.”
What was explained to Hoge and Sherman was that YCF would be a lot like a live version of the popular Madden video game.
“I will choose my down and distance, field position situation, clock, a certain bundle that would be respective of that on the field,” Sherman explained. “So I do have some input, but the fan ultimately calls the play and they own that play.”
looking forward to creating a great opportunity for fans to FINALLY make the call on every play for REAL! #Findaway https://t.co/nxFPE9UF9M
— Merril Hoge (@merrilhoge) December 5, 2017
Sherman understands there might be frustration on his part at times, but understands that’s the same way a fan might feel towards a coach in a traditional game.
This is no gimmick. As Hoge expressed, fans will need to learn the importance of matchups. Similar to how NFL coaches try to exploit one-on-one matchups, fans will need to do the same. “Who’s really one of the better players on that team and how can we highlight him?” said Hoge. “That’ll be our job, to make sure we give the fans those options and hopefully they identify that during the game.”
Based on how well each fan does calling plays they will be able to accumulate points and compete amongst each other. The most skilled play callers have a chance to win cash prizes offered by YCF.
By the way, if you’re calling plays for Hoge, you’d better be focused. “[When I played] I could tell if our coordinator was dialed in or not by how he called plays. You know, when a play would come in I’d be like, ‘Is he at the same game we are?’ Then other guys I’d be like ‘OK, this dude is dialed in.’”
The YCF app will be available for download in the spring when the inaugural games are scheduled to be played.