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The worst thing that I ever heard an official say was, "Ok, coach, one more word and I'm going to flag you."
I filled in as a white hat for a crew and a wing said it. The wing got an earful from me at halftime. I always, in football and basketball, give the "stop" sign and say, "Coach, that's enough." I like the visibility of the stop sign so that everyone, including other coaches, players and fans see that he has been warned. After the stop sign and my verbal warning, it is not hard to justify a flag upon hearing any more. Of course, the key is, WHEN do I reach the point of giving the warning? That comes from experience and having firm limits in your mind. I tell our crew that coaches want two things: (1) to vent; and (2) information. I like to keep those two in mind. I was a coach for many years so I understand #1 is what he needs to do and #2 is a reasonable expectation from him of what I need to do during the game.
Now, one might argue that what I have done with the stop sign and verbal warning is the same as the situation I mentioned above, but this is more professional and does not bait the coach.
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