Conflict had arisen between defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. Ryan had been criticizing Gilbride's "run and shoot" offense, referring to it as the "chuck and duck." Ryan felt that last-minute stands cost him two players to injury when the offense could have simply just run the ball and killed the clock.
At the end of the first half in the final game of the season, a national broadcast against the New York Jets, Gilbride called a pass play, and when Cody Carlson fumbled the snap, Ryan started yelling at Gilbride, who started walking towards Ryan, yelling back. When they were in arms length, Ryan punched Gilbride and two players quickly separated them.