Heads or Tails?

Say you are a head football coach and you send your team captain out for the coin toss. Since the coin toss is a 50/50 proposition and there is no reason to specifically call heads or tails, would you tell the captain what to call, or would you let him decide? The only reason I can think the coach might specify is to avoid the captain from feeling like he chose "incorrectly". Is there any other reason I am not considering?

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Quote: Ibeatyouraces

I read somewhere that its best to call whichever side is face up at the time of the flip. Whether or not this is fact I dont know.

The ref will almost always ask for a clear answer before putting the coin on his thumb these days. It's funny that they called it in the air for the longest time in the NFL, where you could just mumble. Of course after this, they changed it.
from wiki (Jerome Bettis):
Bettis was also at the center of one of the most controversial calls in NFL history. During a Thanksgiving Day game with the Detroit Lions on November 26, 1998, Bettis was sent out as the Steelers representative for the overtime coin toss. Bettis appeared to call "tails" while the coin was in the air but referee Phil Luckett declared that Bettis called "heads" and awarded possession to Detroit, who would go on to win the game before Pittsburgh had the chance to have possession. After reviewing the incident, the NFL changed the rule and declared that the call of "heads" or "tails” would be made before the coin was tossed rather than during the coin toss and that at least two officials would be present during the coin toss. Some have jokingly referred to the new procedure as the "Jerome Bettis Rule." The readers of ESPN voted the incident as the #8 on its list of the top ten worst sports officiating calls of all time, even though later sound enhancements of the audio showed that Bettis said "hea-tails" and Bettis admitted starting to call "heads" before changing it to tails.

Even high schools have moved to the "call before the toss is made" these days.

Quote: cclub79

...Bettis appeared to call "tails" while the coin was in the air but referee Phil Luckett declared that Bettis called "heads" and awarded possession to Detroit ....

So here is the link to the video of this year's Superbowl TV ad that appears to be based on this incident.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

I read somewhere that its best to call whichever side is face up at the time of the flip. Whether or not this is fact I dont know.

That's true. I answer a question about that in an old Ask the Wizard question.

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Penn & Teller did something about pennies landind on tails more.

Why "tails"?

Headas I udnerstand. US coins have a head on the obverse, and something else on the reverse. The something else varies a lot by coin.

In Mexico a coin-flip (known as a "volado") is called by saying "Aguila o sol?" Which means "Eagle or Sun." The Eagle part is easy. The reverse of all coins has the national symbol, which is an eagle standing on a cactus (see the Mexican flag).

The other part, Sun, goes back to the old, old, copper 20 cent pice (known as "un veinte") which had the Pyramid of the Sun, depicted with the Sun rising over it, on the obverse. Ergo "Sol." Besides, that coin was used most often for playing "volados." I don't know the rules, but people wagered each other "veintes" and flipped the coins to play.

The coin is long, long, long gone from circulation.