Not one, not two, but three NFL head coaches got slapped with hefty fines for bad-mouthing the referees. The New England Patriots' Mike Vrabel, the New York Jets' Aaron Glenn, and the Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Sirianni were all fined $250,000 for their conduct toward the refs. A few weeks ago, Vrabel had some words for an official after getting called for a penalty.

But as Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated points out, the catch is that their fines are all on hold and could be outright rescinded if the coaches show “good behavior.” Breer did not go into detail as to what that “good behavior” entails and for how long they need to observe this in order to get their fines removed permanently.

But it appears the whole move to fine the coaches is more to showcase that the league is doing something to address the tensions between referees and coaches and players. A $250,000 fine is meant to be eye-catching because of how big it is in comparison to the offense. It seems to be more of a deterrent for other coaches to be quite as animated and aggressive toward referees moving forward.

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As for Vrabel, Glenn, and Sirianni, it seems unlikely that they will actually end up paying that huge fine unless they have another high-profile outburst at the officials. All they need to do is be smart and avoid completely losing at the refs it for the remainder of the season and they will not become quarter of a million dollars poorer. In Sirianni's case, he might be out of a job soon, so he would be wise not to waste his money on a silly fine.