--- title: See the Worst Decisions in Sports History description: A look back at the most bone-headed decisions of them all, including Seattle's Super Bowl-losing pass canonical: https://time.com/3692485/super-bowl-interception-pete-carroll/ author: Eric Dodds article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-02T20:55:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:54.098Z article:section: Sports og:title: Who Made The Worst Coaching Call in Sports History? og:description: Seattle is not the first team to throw a game on a bad call og:url: https://time.com/3692485/super-bowl-interception-pete-carroll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta998ff5a53b263f5/69877d31e20a8735a2a84df2/worst-coaching-calls-005.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Bill Bucker Error og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who Made The Worst Coaching Call in Sports History? twitter:description: Seattle is not the first team to throw a game on a bad call twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta998ff5a53b263f5/69877d31e20a8735a2a84df2/worst-coaching-calls-005.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Vote for the Worst Calls in Sports History > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Eric Dodds](https://time.com/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Feb 2, 2015 8:55 PM UTC  Bill Buckner's error during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series remains the standard-bearer of soul-crushing sports moments. Thanks to Mookie Wilson's ground ball slipping through Buckner's legs, the Mets went on to win the game and then the World Series, extending Boston's championship drought to 68 years. But for as much heat as Buckner has taken for that fateful moment, Red Sox manager John McNamara also deserves his fair share of scorn. Rather than subbing the hobbled Buckner for Dave Stapleton, his frequent defensive replacement, McNamara stuck with his veteran first baseman. Bill Buckner's error during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series remains the standard-bearer of soul-crushing sports moments. Thanks to Mookie Wilson's ground ball slipping through Buckner's legs, the Mets went on to win the game and then the World Series, extending Boston's championship drought to 68 years. But for as much heat as Buckner has taken for that fateful moment, Red Sox manager John McNamara also deserves his fair share of scorn. Rather than subbing the hobbled Buckner for Dave Stapleton, his frequent defensive replacement, McNamara stuck with his veteran first baseman.Stan Grossfeld—Boston Globe/Getty Images by [Eric Dodds](https://time.com/author/eric-dodds/) ## Eric Dodds Feb 2, 2015 8:55 PM UTC  Down by four in the final minute of Super Bowl XLIX, with the ball on the New England Patriots' one-yard line, the Seattle Seahawks call a slant pass rather than hand the ball to star running back Marshawn Lynch. Quarterback Russell Wilson's pass is intercepted, sealing New England’s 28-24 victory. “There is nobody to blame but me,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after the universally panned play call cost his team the Super Bowl. Mark J. Rebilas—USA Today Sports/Reuters  Bill Buckner's error during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series remains the standard-bearer of soul-crushing sports moments. Thanks to Mookie Wilson's ground ball slipping through Buckner's legs, the Mets went on to win the game and then the World Series, extending Boston's championship drought to 68 years. But for as much heat as Buckner has taken for that fateful moment, Red Sox manager John McNamara also deserves his fair share of scorn. Rather than subbing the hobbled Buckner for Dave Stapleton, his frequent defensive replacement, McNamara stuck with his veteran first baseman. Stan Grossfeld—Boston Globe/Getty Images  It was 1978 and the New York Giants had the ball and a 17-12 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles with 20 seconds left on the clock; the Eagles had no timeouts remaining. The logical call—the only call—in that situation would be to take a knee. Instead, Giants offensive coordinator Rob Gibson called a run for Larry Csonka, who declares in the huddle, "Don't give me the ball." Quarterback Joe Pisarcik does so anyway, the exchange is botched and Eagles defensive back Herm Edwards scoops up the fumble and returns it 26 yards for the winning score. The play, dubbed the "Miracle at the Meadowlands" cost Gibson his job the very next day. G. Paul Burnett—AP  Though well-liked by his players, Red Sox manager Grady Little was often criticized for his in-game decisions. His biggest boner came in one of the biggest moments possible: Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the New York Yankees. After seven innings of high quality hurling, future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez was allowed to come back in for the 8th inning with a 5-2 lead despite having thrown over 100 pitches. After retiring the first batter, Martinez allowed four consecutive hits to the heart of the Yankees lineup to tie the game before Grady mercifully pulled his struggling starter. The Yankees won in the 11th inning when Aaron Boone hit a walk-off home run. Little's contract was not renewed, and the Red Sox won the World Series the very next year with new manager Terry Francona. Jim Davis—Boston Globe/Getty Images  Coaches aren't the only ones who make boneheaded decisions in crucial situations. Chris Webber, the brightest star of Michigan's fabled Fab Four, melted down at the end of the 1993 NCAA Championship game against North Carolina. First, after corralling a rebound with 19 seconds remaining in the game and his team down 73-71, Webber traveled. Referees missed that transgression, but they caught him calling a timeout five seconds later. Problem was, Michigan didn't have any timeouts remaining. Webber was called for a technical foul and UNC went on to win 77-71. Bill Haber—AP  John Starks made his first and only All-Star team during the 1993-1994 season, scoring a career-high 19 points per game and helping lead the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. Maybe that's why coach Pat Riley stuck with his 28-year-old shooting guard as he chucked his way to one of the worst individual performances in NBA Finals history in Game 7\. Starks played 42 minutes and shot 2-for-18 (including 0-for-11 from beyond the arc). Riley never called on veteran sharpshooter Rolando Blackman to relieve Starks, and the Knicks lost the decisive game 90-84. John Roca—New York Daily News/Getty Images  New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been lauded by some as the NFL's greatest coach of all time. But that doesn't mean he hasn't made his share of bad calls. Belichick's biggest blunder was his questionable call during the 2009 season to go for it on 4th-and-2 from the Patriots' own 28-yard line against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts while up six points with just over two minutes remaining. Tom Brady's pass to Kevin Faulk came up short of the first down marker, and the Colts scored before the end of regulation, securing a 35-34 victory. Barry Chin—Boston Globe/Getty Images  U.S. Women's National team coach Greg Ryan benched the then Hope Solo for veteran keeper Brianna Scurry prior to the team's World Cup semifinal against Brazil in 2007 for reasons that still remain vague. Solo had started each of the team's matches up to that point, including a 3-0 shutout against England in the quarterfinals. The Brazilians ended up embrassing the Americans 4-0—the worst loss in the program's 22-year history—and the questionable decision cost Ryan his job; Solo has since won a pair of Olympic gold medals as the USWNT's netminder. Mark Ralstron—AFP/Getty Images  Everyone knows about the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Winter Olympics. What fewer remember is that the greatest moment in U.S. History may never have happened had Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov not pulled ace goaltender Vladislave Tretiak with the score knotted 2-2 at the end of the first period of the semifinal game. Tretiak had already led the U.S.S.R. to gold in 1972 and 1976, but Tikhonov's knee-jerk reaction denied the revered goalie a chance to make it three in a row; he later called it "the biggest mistake of my career." The U.S. won 4-3 and later claimed the gold. Steve Powell—Getty Images  Under the old NFL overtime rules, the first team to score in extra time won. As a result, whichever team won the coin toss would, without fail, elect to receive the kick to begin overtime. Marty Mornhinweg didn't quite see it that way. The Detroit Lions head coach elected to kick off to the Chicago Bears to start OT during a 2002 regular season game, believing the wind and the Lions' feeble defense would be enough to deter Chicago. Instead, the Bears drove down the field and kicked a field goal to win the game. Mornhinweg was fired at the end of the season, finishing his two years in Detroit with a 5-27 record, the worst in franchise history. Charles Rex Arbogast—AP  Phil Mickelson is often considered a fan favorite, in large part thanks to his take-no-prisoners approach on the course. Though that tact has helped him to five major championships, it also cost him a chance at that elusive career Grand Slam in 2006\. Mickelson entered the final round of the U.S. Open at Winged Foot tied for the lead and was clinging to a one-stroke edge at the final hole. Rather than playing it safe and going for the par he needed to win, Mickelson hit his driver off the tee, spraying his first shot off a corporate hospitality tent. Then, rather than playing out into the fairway, Mickelson took aim at the green and sent his ball careening off a tree. He wound up double-bogeying the hole and finished in second place. Afterward, all Mickelson could say was, "I just can't believe I did that, I'm such an idiot." 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