NFL head coaches might turn to AI to call plays this year
Microsoft's Copilot could be asked whether a pass or the draw should be called on 3rd and 11.
For those worried that AI is going to replace humans in the workforce, the National Football League (NFL) could see head coaches turn to AI to call plays. You might recall that the NFL has a deal with Microsoft that dates back to 2014. That deal provided NFL teams with multiple Surface Pro tablets to replace the Polaroid cameras used by coaches on the sidelines and in the press box to take photos of the offensive and defensive alignments used by the opponents.
The Surface Pro has been a staple on NFL sidelines and press boxes since 2014
The coaches would thumb through the Polaroids looking for some weakness that could be exploited. The Surface Pro was first put into use during the 2014 Hall of Fame game between the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. Over the ensuing years, the Surface Pro has been updated and one was even stomped on and thrown into the stands by former New England coach Bill Belichick during the AFC Championship game featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots, which the Patriots won in overtime. Then Surface chief Panos Panay thought that was hilarious and posted it on what is now X.
Incredible game happening right now...but don't worry about the #SurfacePro, we quality test for this exact scenario...it's fine #NFLPlayoffs#Surface#producttesting#builttolast#Chiefs#Patriots#NFLHighlights@NFL@surfacepic.twitter.com/VYxZnftDsK
— Panos Panay (@panos_panay) January 21, 2019
This past week, Microsoft and the NFL added to their current deal, as 2,500 Surface Pro tablets will be distributed to NFL teams. The Surface Pro slates that the NFL teams will get for the upcoming season are pre-installed with Copilot, Microsoft's AI assistant. Powering Copilot is the Prometheus model developed by Microsoft. It merges OpenAI's GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o with Bing search results.
With Copilot, coaches will be able to get real-time analysis of game data as the contest is being played. Play-calling coaches, defensive coordinators, and others will be able to take advantage of the AI feature to ask Copilot to find any patterns that can be used to their team's advantage. Based on the patterns seen by AI during the game, what does the opponent typically do defensively on third down?
Teams could ask AI to pick plays from their playbook that have a good chance of succeeding against the opposition based on the defensive patterns they've used during the game. This could change things around in the NFL, as the top teams could be the ones that understand technology better. Each team might have to start hiring an AI coach who sits in the press box and asks Copilot the precise questions that could help the team discover a weakness that can be exploited.
Both teams will have the same data, hardware, and software
Remember, both teams will have access to the same data, the same hardware, and the same software. What will matter is which team has a better feel for using AI. It seems strange to think that the team that wins the next Super Bowl might not be the champs because of their talent playing football, but because of their talent using AI.
If this succeeds in the NFL, we could see more sports using AI. However, to be honest with you, can anyone say exactly what results would indicate that the NFL has come up with a winner? Would it be closer, more exciting games, league-wide parity? And this goes for any sport that decides to go with AI. I personally believe that AI might be better as a tool to develop a game plan prior to the actual contest. And many of these patterns and stats are already calculated by most professional teams in all sports.
What might give some coaches pause is that AI has the tendency to "hallucinate." If it doesn't have enough information and data to make an informed decision, AI will give an incorrect answer called a hallucination. Imagine the coach of a losing Super Bowl team telling the press after the game that his team lost the game because his AI hallucinated.
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