If you were to judge by the TV ratings and the merchandise sales, the National Football League has never been more popular than it is now.

While the fiscal health of the NFL can’t be debated, the quality of the product has come under fire from fans … heck, even Tom Brady has voiced his displeasure. People point to a multitude of factors — poor officiating, long replay delays, a rash of injuries to starting quarterbacks and unfair schedules are just some of the reasons for the apparent decline.

Staten Island’s high school grid coaches are some of the biggest football fans around, and have their own opinions on how to fix the sport.

So, the question was posed to them: If they could be commissioner Roger Goodell for a day, what changes would they make?

Not surprisingly, the most vocal of the coaches was St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s Tressor Baptiste. The former all-star for Curtis HS signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears after his collegiate career. He played in the preseason for the Bears in 2011, before moving on to the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks, playing for the latter’s practice squad before retiring from the pros.

ROCCO DEL PRIORE, Monsignor Farrell

“I’d adjust [the calls on] quarterback hits. I’m all for player safety, and the league is doing a great job with that. But there’s a gray area with late hits [on quarterbacks]. At the league meeting, I’d have cut-ups of late hits. Look and see if a quarterback was flopping or if a defensive player was giving himself up.

“Also, the play has been horrible this year. There’s not enough practices. I’d also make the rosters bigger. And I’d have a 14-game season with two byes (instead of the current 17-game season with one bye). I’d also realign the divisions; put all the east coast teams together and all the west coast teams together. I’d have the Jets, Giants, Philly, New England and all the Florida teams in the same division. I’d do away with conferences. In that scenario, I’d have the top seven teams from each division make the playoffs.”

BRIAN NEVILLE, Tottenville

“I wouldn’t know where to begin. I think player safety is taken seriously; the league seems to be on top of that. But I’d look at artificial turf, and the ACL injuries that seem to come from it. We didn’t have those when I was playing. The ACL injuries and the Achilles’ injuries … we didn’t see those injuries. Now, ACL injuries seem commonplace. I only remember one guy in my four years of playing at Tottenville suffering an ACL injury. A move to having all the fields change to natural grass would make it safer.”

TRESSOR BAPTISTE, St. Joseph by-the-Sea

“I’d change the players’ requirements to qualify for benefits. (To be eligible for an NFL pension, a player must: Play in the NFL for at least three seasons or be considered vested by being on a team’s roster for at least three games — regular season or postseason. Each season played counts as a credit, which determines the pension amount received.)

“Eighty percent of the players don’t reach those three years; it should go down to two seasons. Trying to reach that [three-season mark] is a huge investment for the player, they have to be committed and dedicated to the sport, and put everything else on the back burner. If you make the commitment, you should be compensated.

“College players usually don’t graduate with a degree. Making such a long investment [to playing in the NFL], you truly have to dedicate yourself. A lot of players suffer career-ending injuries [before reaching three years], and then when they try to get their degree, they’re so removed from it that it’s tough. I was a communications major, but I was so far removed from it, I had to go back to the drawing board. Instead, I got my teaching degree while I was coaching. So much goes into playing football that the degree goes on the back burner.

“The league is doing better setting up players with avenues to get jobs, but there’s always more you can do. Only a few guys make it to double digits [in seasons played]. Life after football is a huge thing for me. So many different players fall into different categories.

“The NFL also needs to be involved more at the high school level. Growing up, I saw a lot more of the NFL logo on the high school level, programs like NFL Cares. I think having academies [like the MLS has] would absolutely be a good thing. You’d see more of a direct path for kids.

“The NFL needs to step in with the transfer portal. A lot of kids are losing out on scholarships. Colleges used to allot about 28-30 spots on their roster for high school players; now, it’s about five or six. Even colleges like Kean and Wagner … they’re not going to spend their last couple of dollars on a high school kid when they can get a transfer from UConn. Why take a chance on a 17-year-old with no experience, when you can get a fifth-string player from Alabama with eligibility left? Our best athletes are relegated to going Division II or Division III or even a JuCo. When a college recruiter comes around, the first question I ask him is how many high school players they’re taking this year. He’ll say, ‘Maybe five.’ That’s why you have 25-27-year-olds in college. Going to a JuCo now for a high school kid is more of a realistic option because you delay your options.”

NICK GIANNATASIO, Moore Catholic

“I would make it a little easier for defenses. The interest in player safety is great. There’s been a lot of attention paid to the helmet-to-helmet hits, but that’s led to an explosion of players going low, which has produced a lot of knee injuries. You don’t want to see players getting all these knee injuries.

“The CBA has limited the amount of practice time, which has negatively affected the level of play. It’s a crazy long season, so I understand players being gassed. But it’s affected the level of play. When New England went on its long runs of success, Bill Belichick would hold these voluntary practices that everyone was dedicated to. You can’t do that now.

“We used to teach getting your head across, but Pete Carroll introduced the rugby/hawk method of tackling. But for NFL players, if you miscalculate, you end up with a high hit and you’ll get ejected or fined.

“I know a lot of the players complain about the schedule, especially those teams that play a game in Europe then have to play the next weekend. Or, I remember during New England’s peak years that they were always playing on Sunday night. But a lot of revenue for the players is derived from those huge TV contracts.”

DAVE OLAH, Petrides

“It’s not just one specific thing. Penalties and rules have handcuffed defenses. So many rules benefit offenses, you just can’t play good defense consistently. That’s why you see a lot of parity.

“There are only 10-11 padded practices now each season (because of the CBA). Teams only go full pads one time a week, maybe.

“Defensive players can’t go high or low on a quarterback. What really can you do? Players throw guys to the ground rather than tackling. As a coach, it’s hard to watch. Maybe the NFL should follow the college rule and make it 15 yards for a pass interference penalty and not a spot foul.”

ARTHUR NEWCOMBE, Susan Wagner

“Everyone has to go for two after a touchdown, and every team has to play outdoors. The weather should be a factor in football!”

LOU VESCE, Port Richmond

“I wasn’t a fan of 17 games. Teams are banged up, and the season is long. So, I’d go back to a 16-game schedule. Currently, a team with 4-6 losses that’s gets healthy down the stretch can get hot and win it all. A lot today depends on who can get healthy.

“The scheduling is crazy. You have teams play on Sunday have to turn around and play on Thursday, like the Jets have to do this week (in Cleveland).

“Rushing the passer is judgmental sometimes. You have a lot of gray area with some of the hits.

“I don’t think pass interference should be reviewable. There should be a margin of error for officials.”

BRIAN MURPHY, New Dorp

“At the next contract negotiations, I’d put in for more practice time. The quality of play has gone down dramatically. Teams don’t practice much anymore; there are a lot of walkthroughs now. It’s led to sloppy play, and that makes it not as fun.

“I get the NFL going to 17 games because of the money involved, but it’s cut down on practice time. Playing more games doesn’t make you play better. You have all these walkthroughs and meetings now; they’re never in pads during the week.”

CHRIS APP JR., McKee/S.I. Tech

“A rule I’d like to see changed would be to have the clock stopped under the two-minute mark of each half when they move the chains, like they do in college. It would make the NFL more exciting and less confusing.”