Update; 8:37PM EST: We spoke with Brian McCarthy; VP of Communications with the NFL and he informed us that the malfunctions have been solely on the NFL’s end and have nothing to do with Bose.
“We (NFL) are extremely satisfied with our partnership with Bose”, said McCarthy. “Often times like in anything, when something malfunctions it is easiest to blame the provider of the product, but the malfunctions that have occurred this season have been a result of issues with the communications technology that is run by the NFL. The NFL once again is extremely satisfied with their partnership with Bose presently and moving forward.”
The NFL Pro Bowl is set to take place in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sunday. The game is a showcase of the NFL’s best, featuring big catches and no hits; rarely resembling a real NFL game. However this year’s game could potentially have major impact on the NFL as early as next season.
After a season of struggles with the on-field communications, the NFL will test the coach-to-coach communication system at this weekend’s Pro Bowl. If the new system proves to be effective the new technology will be implemented at the beginning of the 2016 season.
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Bose reached a deal with the NFL to become the official on field headset provider before the start of the 2014 season, ending Motorola’s 13 years on the sidelines. The headset giant poured a substantial amount of money into R&D after talks with the NFL began a year earlier. Bose, which provides headsets to the US military as well as many private and commercial airplane pilots, used similar technology when creating their exclusive NFL model.
The current headsets are used by every NFL team and feature new noise canceling technology, as well as a unique connective hinge. They were tested in extreme weather, beyond anything they could possibly face on an NFL field.
.@NFL will test in the Pro Bowl a new-&-improved coach-to-coach communication system that @Bose helped create. Will end post-game complaints
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 24, 2016
During the 2015 regular season, many teams voiced their concerns that the headset were prone to malfunction. Including the first game of this season, when the Pittsburg Steelers’ coaching staff reported hearing the New England Patriots’ local radio broadcast instead of their fellow coaches. The NFL has taken responsibility for the troubles with communication around the headsets and has explained that any issues were caused by the league’s communication infrastructure and not the headsets themselves.
The communication technology which has been tested a few times during the regular season has not been specified by either party at this point. However, sources speculate the main focus will be on greater noise canceling features as well as working out the bugs that have caused communication errors in the past.
Communication is a vital part of success in every organization, maybe none more so than in the fast paced world of the NFL. Coaches need to be able to communicate from the field to the coaching boxes high-a-top stadiums, sometimes during severe weather, and with up to 100,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs. NFL coaching staffs and referees use a total of roughly 60 headsets during every game and if just a few are not working it can cause serious problems.
The NFL has a lot riding on the coach’s headsets and overall communication infrastructure working properly as close to 100% of the time as possible. They have all the incentive in the world to make sure these issues are sorted out. Therefore even if the technology that is being tested this weekend in Hawaii doesn’t go smoothly, everyone should expect that there will be revamped headset communication to start the 2016 NFL season.