Embed from Getty Images Every generation of NFL officiating gives way to the next. This past offseason, we saw, very quickly and dramatically, one generation give way to the next. Referees Ed Hochuli, Gene Steratore, Terry McAulay and Jeff Triplette represent 88-years of experience at the referee position. That is 88-years
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Officials are back: 2018 clinic begins in Dallas
https://twitter.com/alriveron/status/1017152087895965697 The NFL officials are gathering in Dallas for a weekend clinic as they prepare for the upcoming season, which allows senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron to have his entire officiating staff together prior to the start of the preseason games in August. This is the first and only
Snow-clearing penalty drifts into the 2018 rulebook
Officiating crews for the 2018 season
http://gty.im/890345632 Football Zebras has obtained the officiating crew rosters for the 2018 NFL season. This season, there are seven new officials to replace officials that retired. There are two veteran officials designated as swing officials, decreasing last season’s record-level bench. The swing officials will move between crews through the season, and include one line-of-scrimmage
Staff changes highlight chaotic officiating 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
Umpire Clay Martin is the NFL’s newest referee
Embed from Getty Images Clay Martin has been promoted to the referee position, according to senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron on Thursday. Martin was hired in 2015, along with another new referee, Shawn Smith, and worked all three seasons at the umpire position, which is commonly known to be a pipeline
NFL restores the 2-member replay crew
Football Zebras has learned that for the 2018 season, the NFL will once again have a replay official and a replay assistant assigned to each on-field officiating crew. This is a slight change in personnel which ends an assignment practice in place for 2 seasons. When replay was reintroduced in 1999,
Gene Steratore to retire after 15 seasons, joining CBS
Embed from Getty Images Referee Gene Steratore, a veteran NFL official who served for 15 seasons, and just worked Super Bowl LII, will be retiring from the league, according to senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron. Sources have confirmed that Steratore will become a rules analyst for CBS Sports, a
Umpire Shawn Smith promoted to referee position
Embed from Getty Images Shawn Smith has been promoted to the referee position after the retirement of Terry McAulay, as announced by senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron. Smith was hired in 2015 and was hired initially as a field judge, but worked all three seasons at the umpire position, which
Terry McAulay quits NFL for NBC
In a monumentally stunning move, NFL referee Terry McAulay, arguably the best referee on the NFL roster, has retired, as announced by senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron. https://twitter.com/alriveron/status/1009814475652894721 Multiple sources tell Football Zebras that McAulay will likely join Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth in the NBC booth as a rules analyst for