The best use of data is to give coaches a high level picture of what the likely result of a given play call will be (trusting sample size to even it out). You

The best use of data is to give coaches a high level picture of what the likely result of a given play call will be (trusting sample size to even it out). You hire a coach to then adjust for those other things. However, if the data says that 99% of the time a given play call will have a specific result, coaches shouldn't try to be the exception (unless the game situation demands it). There is a happy medium here. The Rays have figured it out pretty well with Joe Maddon, the NFL will get there too. No one thinks a machine should call all the plays (yet). We just think machine learning and big data should be leaned on as tools the same way that film is. Don't forget, Bill Sharman was considered a nut for watching film in the 1980s. Imagine coaching without now.