The impact of deviance on head coach dismissals and implications of a personal conduct policy

Abstract

Effects of deviant behavior committed by NFL teams’ coaching staffs and players on head coach dismissals are examined before and after a personal conduct policy change. Using 505 observations from 2000 through 2015, survival analysis results indicate deviance committed by players affect head coach retention decisions. More specifically, workplace deviance committed by subordinates, as measured by player fines, increases head coach dismissal likelihood, regardless of the institutional emphasis on personal conduct, represented by a personal conduct policy modification. However, penalty yards and off-duty legal incidents committed by players only increase the likelihood of head coach dismissal following the personal conduct policy modification, which was implemented to deter deviant behavior viewed by external stakeholders. Though head coaches are dismissed following instances of player misconduct, when those instances of misconduct result in suspensions (i.e., coaches are unable to utilize all their resources), the likelihood of head coach retention increases, suggesting suspensions may operate as an excuse for poor performance, thus allowing head coaches of deviant players to potentially forestall their dismissal.