Dan Capron has been working Big Ten college football games for twenty years. The time has come however for him to make a decision to call it quits after doing a bushel of very big games. He’s done some Ohio State vs. Michigan games, a national championship game, and a slew of other big-time tilts throughout his career.
That means he’s got some behind the scenes stories and perspectives not many have from on-the-field moments and battles that only someone in his position has access to.
The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein sat down with the officiating veteran to pick his brain on some things the public may not know. It’s a fascinating read, and there are some things in there that Buckeye fans will get a kick out of, and one that they may not.
Some of the most interesting nuggets come from the Ohio State vs. Michigan game in 2016 that went to double overtime. You know the one. The game in which there was a “controversial” spot that J.T. Barrett received on the winning drive of the game, and the same one in which Jim Harbaugh got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing his playbook on the field in disgust. Yeah, that one.
When discussing the unsportsmanlike penalty, Capron compared Jim Harbaugh’s antics to a fourth grader.
Next … Capron’s take on Jim Harbaugh’s antics in the 2016 game
Harbaugh’s unsportsmanlike penalty in the 2016 game
The head linesman — from the state of Michigan, not that it matters — (assessed the penalty). … Coach Harbaugh threw his clipboard out on the field. Well, that’s a no-brainer. First of all, he was complaining about an offside call, which is not the hardest in the book to make. It was a completely valid call.
You have to be able to control yourself. There’s a tremendous amount of gray area with the unsportsmanlike conduct call. His actions were black and white. If that head linesman doesn’t make that call, he’s going to get downgraded by the boss. And it’s going to cost him.
You throw something out on the field, I can understand that … if you’re a fourth-grader. If you’re an adult that’s paid (more than) $5 million a year to coach a major college football team, I would expect more.
And what about the spot? Barret carried the ball on fourth and one and got pushed back right at the marker. The play was called a first down, but Michigan fans and coaches were livid, and still are to this day. Capron had this to say.
Next … Capron discusses the Barrett spot
On J.T. Barrett’s spot
Of course the ruling on the field was that he made the line to gain (on fourth-and-1) and it was going to be a first down. The buzzers went off and it got kicked up to replay. I don’t know why the network didn’t have a camera right on the yard line. It was broadcasting malpractice. Because there was no camera on the yard line, there wasn’t a good angle to make the determination on an excruciatingly close call. I’m talking about within an inch. So replay couldn’t get a read on it, and they did what they’re supposed to do. The ruling on the field stands.
By the way, the line judge who made that call is Brian Bolinger from Indiana. That was his last Big Ten game because the next year he started in the NFL. Pretty damn good.
Notice Capron’s continued mention of where the officials are from. That’s because Michigan fans drubbed up some conspiracy theories about some of the game’s officials being from Ohio and making calls to benefit the Buckeyes. That has since been debunked, but it’s just another example of the length some Wolverine fans went to drum up controversy that simply wasn’t there.
There is one point of the interview that isn’t so kind to former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. Capron likened Meyer to a coach that wanted nothing to do with the officials and even went as far as being aloof and running away from communication.
Next … Capron talks about what it was like to work with Urban Meyer
On Urban Meyer
He is unlike any other Big Ten coach. He is distant, uncommunicative. He had a staff member whose job it was to communicate with the officials. I’d come over at the end of the first half, as I’m obligated to do, and say, “Coach, you’re out of timeouts.” Or maybe I’d say something like, “Coach, No. 64 is on the edge (of getting a penalty); you better talk to him.” I was engaging in what we call preventive officiating.
If you don’t want to listen to what I have to say, you’re probably not doing your team any favor. I’m not expecting that coaches will be warm and fuzzy, though some of them are absolutely lovable. Coach Meyer was all about the business of coaching his team, and he wanted nothing to do with the officials or with officiating.
Any time I would approach his sideline, he would turn and go the other direction. Now, in his defense Ohio State is a pressure-packed job and he’s got a million things on his mind. The other coaches seem to be able to parse that out in such a way that they’re able to communicate with the officials. For whatever reason, that wasn’t on his radar screen. The pregame meetings were as brief as he could possibly make them … captains’ numbers, kickoff time, everybody legally equipped. Check, check, check. Good luck, Coach. Goodbye.
Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Meyer on staying engaged personally with an important aspect of the game, but every coach his reasons for how things are handled. As detailed and meticulous as Meyer was, there’s probably something in his past that conditioned him to be this way.
Those are just some of the interesting comments in the entire interview appearing in the Chicago Tribune. There are other personalities and moments worth taking a peek at too. You can read the entire piece here.
