NFL Coaches Association Upset With Pension Change

All NFL coaches have already signed their contracts for the upcoming season, so no immediate recourse was available to Moore and Mudd.

"Maybe had we known those nine teams had opted out we wouldn't have signed with one of them," Kennan said. "We felt really, really disrespected and betrayed."

There has been renewed talk of the coaches forming a union. The NFL has in the past threatened to fire all coaches who joined a union.

"That's generally what has been said at different times when we brought it up," Kennan said. "We don't have a lot of options.

"Having a pension is a big deal. A lot of coaches are in the NFL instead of college because of the wonderful pension we have. For them to change it dramatically without any advanced warning is wrong."

There has been speculation the league opted to change the pension plan requirements as an offshoot of the owners opting out of the collective bargaining agreement with the players. Several coaches believe it is part of the league's overall strategy for negotiating a new CBA.