Author: Ben Austro

Ben Austro is the editor and founder of Football Zebras and the author of So You Think You Know Football?: The Armchair Ref's Guide to the Official Rules (on sale now)

Dozens of officials to become full-time under plan from NFL and union

by Ben Austro - 0

The NFL Referees' Association and the league have come to an agreement to elevate 21 to 24 officials to full-time status, according to a report by Albert Breer at The MMQB. The league would select the full-time employees from applicants that are on the current staff. There would be between 1 and

NFL has a new name for the head linesman position: down judge

by Ben Austro - 5

When the league that would become the NFL was founded in 1920, there were only three officials: the referee, the umpire, and the linesman -- the origin of the crew of three goes back decades earlier. In 1965, the NFL added the line judge and renamed the counterpart on the

Scorecard of the 2017 NFL Spring Meeting

by Ben Austro - 0

Embed from Getty Images   Below are the actions passed by the owners at their 2017 Spring Meeting in Chicago. Each item is shown with the team that introduced each (or CC for a Competition Committee proposal) and the disposition of each proposal.  *Items that were tabled at the Annual Meeting in March

May 15 is the start of the NFL officiating calendar

by Ben Austro - 0

Embed from Getty Images   The ritual has been constant year after year in the officiating world as the season calendar turns to page one on May 15. The end of the offseason also officially ends the so-called "dark period," a time frame that starts after the Super Bowl when the league doesn't

Al Riveron promoted to senior vice president of officiating

by Ben Austro - 0

Embed from Getty Images The NFL has promoted Al Riveron to senior vice president of officiating to fill the vacancy left by Dean Blandino's sudden departure. Riveron was the second-in-command in the officiating department as senior director of officiating. The league made the announcement this morning and teams were informed by

NFL posts vacancy for senior vice president of officiating

by Ben Austro - 0

The NFL has posted the job description and application for the vacant position of senior vice president of officiating.  SVP, Officiating The SVP -- Officiating will oversee all aspects of the Officiating Department inclusive of crew selection, training, performance assessment, communications and policy development with the primary goal being consistency and accuracy. Responsibilities: Manage multiple,