NFL to fund InterNACHI Foundation.

The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), in search of funding for the InterNACHI Foundation (a separate registered charity based in MD), has developed an online tool for college and NFL football coaches.  Using artificial intelligence (AI) technology (including neural networks), the project dubbed NextMove, like existing programs, is not only able to reveal a coaching staff’s statistical tendencies but can also predict when he or she is likely to veer from those tendencies in very certain game situations.

Nick Gromicko, the Director of the project said, “Unlike a computer chess opponent, human coaches have unique tendency patterns which are identifiable.  Every now and then a certain situation will arise in which a coaching staff will likely (statistically speaking) make an unusual play call.  Unlike other football prediction software which calculates outcomes, NextMove can predict what a coach would normally do at any given moment, but more importantly, when he or she might throw a curveball.”

Chris Morrell, Project IT Director said, “Football is suited to these kinds of real-time statistics.  There’s enough time between plays to calculate a plethora of statistics beyond the most likely next play.  In fact it’s possible to generate a hierarchy of figures from the most general to the acutely specific.  Perhaps the ability to determine whether the next play call will be unexpected is one of NextMove's greatest strengths, but that is not the extent of its capabilities.”  Morrell went on to say that one such alternate application might be in helping coaches understand their own tendencies and how to mask them.

The web-based tool requires large data collection for each opposing team and will use InterNACHI’s computer power.  Talks for funding this project are ongoing with several teams and proceeds will go to fund the InterNACHI Foundation.