Zebra Blog

This morning, Adam Schefter reported on ESPN that the Competition Committee is looking to recommend that umpires wear protective headgear. The umpire position on the officiating crew, positioned in the middle of the field near the line of scrimmage on the defensive side, is the one most frequently subject to hard hits.

The issue of protecting the umpire was on the agenda at the owners meeting earlier this month in Boston. The Competition Committee makes recommended changes in the offseason on matters of safety and fair play, subject to league approval.

Of course, with all of the attention paid to the umpire position, just today we witnessed a back judge in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Week 7: Vikings at Steelers

During a breakaway runback by Percy Harvins of the Vikings on a kickoff return, back judge Rich Reels found himself right in the path of the coverage team. While running to cover the third quarter runback, he was caught off guard when the play quickly shifted away from the sideline and was plowed to the turf (video).

Reels left the field on his own feet, and the officiating crew reconfigured to six officials. His condition and his chance of return are unknown.

The latest news in the search for the next vice president of NFL officiating is that there is no news. But, a new timetable is now emerging in the process of appointing the successor to Mike Pereira, who announced his retirement last January.

Originally, Pereira was going to be shadowed by his eventual replacement in the 2009 season. We ruled out any active officials at the beginning of the season for that reason, until it was reported that the search was starting anew. But as CBS Sports is reporting, the goal is to get someone in place by February 2010.

In Clark Judge’s article, a league source said that the league will open the search to 15 to 20 participants. This does include active and inactive officials.

Interestingly (for reasons we will point out soon), there were five candidates considered in the offseason, which were winnowed down to three. A consensus could not be reached, however, on a successor, which necessitated a reboot in the replacement search. We can only speculate who was in that pool of five, but we have noticed that is the same number as Pereira’s direct reports: five former officials who all carry the title “supervisor of officials,” and presumably all candidates for successorship. They are:

• Johnny Grier, a long-time former head referee, who moved off the field in 2004.
• Neely Dunn, a former side judge, who moved to the league office in 2001, the same year as Pereira. (He suited up for one more game in 2001 due to a contractural lockout of officials.)
• Ed Coukart, an umpire until the 2005 season.
• Gary Slaughter, a headlinesman whose last game was Super Bowl XLII.
• Bill Vinovich, a former head referee, who moved first to replay work in 2007, presumably due to an undisclosed illness.

It seems, in order to include current officials in the selection pool, the league office will have to take advantage of bye weeks. As we noted before, the new vice president of officiating has to have solid presentation skills, as the position has become much more visible to the public under Pereira’s reign.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has released its 2010 preliminary list of nominees for the Hall. The preliminary list of 131 will be whittled down first to 25, then 15, with four to seven being elected prior to Super Bowl XLIV. Among the list of nominees that is newsworthy here is former referee and current motivational speaker and blogger, Jim Tunney. He was previously on the long list of nominees for 2008.

Unfortunately, this is pretty much the end of the road, as history tells us. No official has ever been enshrined in the Hall, and none has made the semifinal list of 25 in the past five years at least, according to the Hall’s website. Those nominated in previous years:

• 2009: Ben Dreith
• 2008: Art McNally, Pat Haggerty, Tunney
• 2007: Rex Stuart
• 2006: Haggerty, McNally
• 2005: Haggerty, McNally

Looking over this list makes it readily apparent that game officials do not have serious consideration for the Hall. Last year, they nominated Ben Dreith, the referee known for his colorful descriptions of penalties (most notably, the penalty because “after he tackled the quarterback there, he was giving him the business down there!”). Now, I really enjoyed Dreith’s vivid vernacular, and he was certainly a good referee, but he was the sole nominee last year? Also, I will admit that, while I can’t recall every official that has worked the game, I have never heard of Rex Stewart Rex Stuart, the 2007 nominee. (If someone can please enlighten me, please do. Update: See comments.) McNally and the late Haggerty make the list frequently; notably absent is the late Norm Schachter.

While we don’t see many officials listed in the long list of nominees (with three in ‘08 being the recent high-water mark), at least a half-dozen owners and general managers make the list, and generally two of them graduate to the semifinal list each year. I don’t doubt the qualifications of the Art Modells and the Jerry Joneses in their nominations and their contributions to the game. However, officials are not only athletes—sometimes decades senior to the players they must keep up with—but also must maintain a high level of accuracy. Consider that an average official is 98% accurate, and the best season for a quarterback is 71%.

So, we do extend congratulations to Tunney, and will be rooting him on to the next level. Hopefully, we will be pleasantly surprised.

It is not exactly America’s Got Talent, but finding the new vice president of officiating is turning out to be one tough audition.

Peter King of SI.com is reporting that the league is restarting its process to find a replacement for current officeholder Mike Pereira. Pereira announced on the NFL Network in January that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2009 season.

The process is definitely taking longer than anticipated. In February, Pereira said his replacement would shadow him through this season.

Pereira took over from Jerry Seeman (then, the position was senior director of officiating) in 2001. Prior to being elevated to the league office, Pereira served as a side judge for only two seasons at the NFL level.

I am not sure that Seeman would be a candidate for the position as it is today. Pereira is now the league’s highest profile executive with a weekly “Official Review” segement on NFL Total Access. This involves presentation skills far more polished than a 10-second announcement over the public-address system. A successful candidate must also navigate and rise above the flood of faux hipness that the network talking heads constantly exude.

While this represents the most visible part of the job, Periera and his staff grade every play of every game from no less than three camera angles. The grades are then computed into a percentage for playoff assignments.

It is unlikely that the league will field a candidate from the current roster of officials, if the new appointee is to shadow Pereira this season. There were five officials that retired in the offseason, including referee Bill Carollo and field judge Duke Carroll.

But, for now the league is back at square one for lining up potential candidates. Perhaps the NFL Network can start a clone of America’s Got Talent, with commissioner Roger Goodell, Pereira, and Goodell’s newest special advisor, John Madden, manning the buzzers.

John Madden

John Madden’s retirement from broadcasting was short-lived. No, he’s not returning to the airwaves, but will work with the league in a consultant role.

The league announced today that Madden, the former CBS/Fox/ABC/NBC color commentator and Raiders coach, was appointed as an unpaid adviser with the league. In a statement released, Madden will have four duties in his position:

• advise Commissioner Roger Goodell “on matters pertaining to the game, including competitive issues, coaching and personnel development, technological innovations, player safety, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
• discuss with a league executive about “multiple league-related issues”
• chair the Coaches Subcommittee of the Competition Committee
• participate in meetings of the General Managers Advisory Committee as well as conference calls with the commissioner’s office about issues from the previous week’s games.

While some have criticized Madden’s ability to convey complicated or obscure rules to the viewing public, his career focus on football is undeniably valuable. Factoring in his time since he was drafted by the Eagles in the 21st round (yes, 21st, and injured in training camp before playing) and his nine-year college coaching career, Madden has been drawing a football check for 50 years. While he always pines for the smashmouth era of football, he has adapted to the changes and new innovations that have come in that half-century.

From the press release, it sounds like Madden can essentially get involved in pretty much anything he wants. Or, Commissioner Gordon—er, Goodell—will just illuminate the secret Fatman distress signal as needed.

Don’t expect to read Ed Hochuli defend his calls online. He and the rest of the officials have a social networking ban imposed on them.

In rules just released—which is a reaction to number eight-five of the Bengals, Chad Ochocinco, and his claim that he would connect with fans via Twitter midgame—the NFL mainly placed restrictions on players and credentialed media for tweeting during games. However, a full-out ban was added for referees, even midweek.

The NFL’s muzzling of the officiating crew is not surprising, after Hochuli apologized for a blown call that could not be overturned during a Chargers–Broncos game last year. The call allowed the Broncos to keep possession and score the winning touchdown.

After the game, Hochuli was besieged by e-mails at the law firm where he serves as an attorney during the work week. Remarkably, Hochuli responded to his critics, regretting he made the bad call. The NFL stepped in immediately and ordered Hochuli to not respond to e-mails about his gridiron work.

As a result of the ban, we are missing a crucial element of the game: the perspective of the third team on the field. While we are seeking clarification on the rules, it would appear sites such as this are off limits as well, depriving the fans of unique insight.

After only two full quarters in the new Cowboys Stadium, a punt banged into the overhead video screen, despite its 90-foot clearance. The NFL spent less than a week to make the ruling clear on how such anomalies are handled.

From the NFL:

After consulting with the Competition Committee and NFL staff, the commissioner said the following will be in effect for all remaining preseason, regular season, and postseason games of the 2009 season:

1. If a ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot.
2. If there is not an on-field ruling that the ball struck an object, the Replay Assistant is empowered to initiate a booth review, including if the event occurs prior to the two-minute warning. If, prior to the two-minute warning, no booth review is initiated by the Replay Assistant, a coach’s challenge is permitted under the customary procedures for such a challenge.
3. In the event the down is replayed:

(a) The game clock will be reset to the time remaining when the snap occurred.

(b) All penalties will be disregarded, except for personal fouls which will be administered prior to replaying the down.

The press release goes on to state that this rule change is limited to the 2009 season, because Rule 3, Section 1 of the playing rules requires interim changes to be reviewed by the Competition Committee for permanency.

The NFL homepage ran an Associated Press story quoting the Rich McKay, Falcons president and Competition Committee co-chairman. As it does almost every year, according to the commissioner, the Competition Committee is looking into the competitive balance of the current sudden-death overtime format. The committee met in Indianapolis before the Scouting Combine and are currently adjourned until March.

The review will likely lead to no change in the overtime rules. If there is a change, it would be nothing more than moving the overtime kickoff forward five yards.

Three reasons lead me to believe there is no change: (1) there is no formal proposal submitted for a specific rule change; (2) coaches still favor the system as it has existed since it was implemented in 1974; (3) Jeff Fisher, Titans head coach and the other committee co-chairman, is encouraging more study into any possible changes.

The one thing that keeps coming up is the idea that the coin flip determines the outcome. Of course, this discounts the role of the defense and the special teams—all important parts of a balanced team. However, I propose doing away with the coin flip and giving the option to the team that was last in the lead. In other words, if your team caused the tie, it is the same as if your team lost the coin flip. This also eliminates the possibility of a team tying in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, winning the toss, and scoring on the first possession of overtime.

The Elmira (N.Y.) Star-Gazette ran an profile on the career of  the recently retired NFL field judge Duke Carroll. [Link unfortunately goes behind a paywall on the newspaper's site after Feb. 21.] He served as an NFL official for 14 seasons.

Plenty of attention is placed on the punishing physical abuse on the players’ bodies. Although NFL officials don’t get knocked around to often, they must be in top physical shape to keep up with players younger than their children.

Unfortunately for Carroll, his knees told him at the beginning of the season that 2008 would be his last. He officiated his last game in the Colts–Chargers overtime Wild Card game under referee Ron Winter. Carroll, in fact, called one of the two defensive holding penalties on the Colts in the extra session.

He worked on Jeff Triplette’s crew for seven years.

“Some guys like to be rock stars, some guys like to grab headlines,” Triplette said. “Duke was one of those guys who went out and did his job day in and day out.

“If I was his dad, I’d be proud to call him my son. He just makes you so proud.”

Carroll started in the NFL in 1995, the year that the expansion Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars joined the league, necessitating more officials.