NFL makes key rule change ahead of new season without vote from owners

NFL head coaches have another responsibility they can delegate to their army of assistants: throwing the challenge flag.

Whereas Patriots legend Bill Belichick famously kept the red flag in his sock, leaving him scrambling to pull up his pant leg whenever he wanted to challenge a call, current NFL coaches will now be permitted to designate an assistant for those duties.

Dating back to the inception of the current instant replay rules in 1999, only the head coach has been permitted to challenge calls by throwing the red flag onto the field.

Now, though, the league has quietly tweaked the language in Rule 15 Section 1 of the rule without a committee vote. 

'The head coach or head coach's pregame challenge designee can initiate a challenge by throwing a red flag onto the field of play before the next legal snap or kick,' the rule book says in Article 1 (a).

If a head coach wants to give up those duties, he will have to let the officiating crew know before the game.

The decision to throw the flag is typically made in consultation with staff in the coaches booth with the head coach having final say. That won't likely change even if the task of throwing the flag might be delegated.

Teams are granted two challenges per game and can get a third if one of the first two leads to an overturn.

Replay can be used in several scenarios including possession, whether the ball or a player touched the ground, whether a player was inbounds, whether a player gained a first down, or how many players were on the field.

Any scoring play, turnover, failed fourth down, possession after a kick or disqualification are automatically reviewed and can't be challenged by teams.