re: High School coach who never punts is trying something new

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The Kevin Faulk 4th down play against the Colts tells you all you need to know about the situation in the NFL. Arguably the best coach in the league took absolutely withering criticism from virtually all corners - even though it was, IMO, the right decision. Very few coaches are going to have the sack to stand up to that scrutiny.

I agree with you that the NFL is preposterously conservative on this front. College too, really.

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Totally agree. The NFL has bred this "coach for your job" culture that has essentially forced NFL head coaches to be groupthink dittoheads who do things out of want to keep their jobs instead of using analytics and common sense. Belichick was one of the first coaches to incorporate spread concepts in his offense, and he's more aggressive in late downs than most, so it's no coincidence that he's the most successful HC in the league.

I'm no Panthers fan, but I remember a few years ago when the Panthers had something like 4th and inches inside the 5 and Ron Rivera kicked a field goal instead of using Cam Newton (arguably the best short yardage QB in the league) or his stable of highly paid backs (at that time the backfield consisted of Mike Tolbert, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart). Of course they ended up losing and it was arguably the worst pansy 4th down decision I've ever seen in football.