## The football coach who never punts …

Hat tip: Tyler Cowen, via Marginal Revolution. Addendum (18 Oct 2016): R.J. Lipton and K.W. Regan, who blog at Godel’s Lost Letter and P=NP, discuss the following theorem:

Theorem 1 (Fundamental Theorem of Football?) The optimal strategy is initially always to go for two. If after some number ${2t-1}$ of tries you have succeeded ${t}$ times, so that you are ahead of what kicking would have brought, switch over to kicking.

When I’m not blogging, I am a business law professor at the University of Central Florida.
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### 4 Responses to The football coach who never punts …

1. Craig says:

Analytics are OK but he’s also in charge of young people’s personal development, which is a lot more important. Berating players and running up scores does not set a great example of how to get along in the world beyond football.

• But his teams win championships!

• My previous reply was a bit flippant. You are right about how this coach does not set a good example in terms of sportsmanship. But at the same time, I admire his willingness to take risks on the field. Most coaches are so risk averse when it comes to punting on 4th down …

• Update: I added an addendum this morning with a link to a mathematical discussion of the choice between one extra point or going for the two-point conversion. Unlike the video, there is far less bluster and tough talk in the mathematical post.