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Staff changes highlight chaotic officiating offseason
Major shuffling in the officiating department continues late into the offseason.
Senior vice president Al Riveron is nearing the end of his first full offseason in charge of the officiating department after seeing seismic turnover in the staff. The exodus of four referees is unprecedented not only in number but also in their late timing.
The NFL Referees Association confirmed that six of the officials in the table below are retiring this offseason in March. Six new hires were also announced around the same time.
In May, line judge Ron Marinucci also retired, after a 21-year career. “Ron has been a colleague and a friend to the NFL officiating family for more than two decades, and we are excited for him to enjoy his retirement after a successful NFL career,†said NFLRA Executive Director Scott Green. His empty slot was filled by Chad Hill, most recently a side judge in the SEC. “Becoming an NFL official is a long, demanding process, and we welcome Chad to the union,†said NFLRA President Tony Steratore. Hill was the field judge for the 2017 Senior Bowl.
Rounding out the list, field judge Jon Lucivansky has also left the NFL after a 9-year run.
https://www.footballzebras.com/2018/07/06/officiating-crews-for-the-2018-season/
In addition to the new officials, four new referees were promoted from the current staff, each with 5 years or less of NFL experience, which is fairly typical in order to maximize the tenure of the most visible officials. There were 16 other position changes, most of which were to change to the mirror position on the opposite sideline.
Last year, there were 5 swing officials that were not attached to any crew and would substitute through the season. This bench has been reduced to 2 to account for some of the late departures. Of note, there are no umpires on the swing crew, which causes a potential problem in Week 17. If an umpire is injured, he will be replaced by the umpire on the crew that is off that week. Should two umpires be injured, there is no bench to draw from, which will cause someone to work out of position.
Leaving the field
| Â | Â | Â | Yrs | 2017 crew | College | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 42 | Jeff Triplette | 22 | Â | Wake Forest | restructuring consultant |
| R | 77 | Terry McAulay | 20 | Â | Louisiana State | college officiating coordinator |
| R | 85 | Ed Hochuli | 28 | Â | Texas-El Paso | attorney |
| R | 114 | Gene Steratore | 15 | Â | Kent State | co-owner, supply company |
| DJ | 37 | Jim Howey | 19 | (swing) | Erskine College | director of adult education |
| DJ | 123 | Ed Walker | 4 | Hussey | San Jose State | real estate management |
| LJ | 107 | Ron Marinucci | 21 | Hussey | Glassboro State | vice president, novelty cone company |
| FJ | 82 | Buddy Horton | 19 | Corrente | Oregon State | water service worker |
| FJ | 89 | Jon Lucivansky | 9 | Vinovich | Minnesota | college educator |
| SJ | 125 | Laird Hayes | 23 | Anderson | Princeton | physical education and athletics |
New officials in 2018
|  |  | Name | Yrs in ODP | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FJ | 130Â | Land Clark | 2016-2017 | Pac-12 |
| FJ | 96 | Matt Edwards | 2015-2016 | Big Ten |
| SJ | 125 | Chad Hill | 2017 | SEC |
| FJ | 36 | Anthony Jeffries | 2017 | SEC |
| BJÂ | 67Â | Tony Josselyn | 2016-2017 | SEC |
| LJ | 75Â | Mark Stewart | 2016-2017 | Big 12 |
| FJ | 58Â | Don Willard | 2016-2017 | Big Ten |
Promoted to referee
| Â | Â | Â | Yrs | 2017 crew | College | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 55 | Alex Kemp | 5 | Hochuli | Central Michigan | insurance agent |
| R | 83 | Shawn Hochuli | 5 | Allen | Claremont | financial advisor |
| R | 14 | Shawn Smith | 4 | Hochuli | Ferris State | internal auditor |
| R | 19 | Clay Martin | 4 | Cheffers | Oklahoma Baptist | high school basketball coach |
