[vhawk01]

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They just do what other people have told them is best, be it reporters, other coaches, or whoever.

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They do what they have learned in the game via playing and other coaches. They are mostly following their hunches.

Anything that any reporter has told them or asked them in the past has very little influence. I think you don't quite get how little these coaches think of these guys' opinions or input.

I agree that they aren't familiar with thinking in terms of EV, etc etc. He was just playing a hunch here that to play it safe and go to OT was best and didn't even think about the percentages or the numbers. But his crappy decision had almost nothing to do with reporters imo.

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Right, but you are neglecting where the coaches who teach the coaches learned things. Its a constant pressure that impacts their decision making. "Whenever I make this kind of decision I am mildly compensated when it goes well and HUGELY criticized when it doesnt. Whenever I make this other kind of decision, the opposite happens." Its a subconscious effect but its built up through generations of coaches and systems for EXACTLY the reasons you talked about here. None of these guys learn a fresh set of ideas and then get pressure from the media and fans and front office. They learn a set of ideas that have THEMSELVES been a product of pressure from media, fans and front office and THEN they add in even more pressure.