The episode was written by co-creator and executive producer of Modern Family, Christopher Lloyd and directed by Jason Winer.

"Coal Digger" received positive reviews from critics and was named in the top 100 best television episodes of 2009 by BuddyTV.

On the other side, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) does not care about football but in order to be more comfortable, he decides to learn more about the game and the two teams so he can try to enjoy the evening along with his dad.

Phil begins to explain the situation, but Jay takes over and simply tells the boys that they are family, and instead of fighting, they should love each other.

Later, when the two boys have had some fun, Manny brings up that Luke constantly insults Gloria, calling her a "coal digger".

In its original American broadcast, "Coal Digger" was viewed in 8.57 million households and got a Nielsen rating of 3.4 rating/9% share in the 18-49 demographic.

"[3] Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 7.7/10 saying it was "Good" and "Coal Digger" proved that even without being packed with hilarity, the young series can still deliver some entertaining television.

"[4] James Poniewozik of Time said "Modern Family wasn't as disappointing as last night's Glee, and I found plenty of laughs in it, but all the same it was probably the show's weakest outing.