Big 10 referee and Officiating Development Program official Don Willard made a mistake Saturday. He faced the wrong way when announcing a foul. It can happen. It has happened to the best, many times. But, the way he handled himself with a live microphone places him into nomination for referee announcement of
Tag: Officiating Development Program
4 more hired to fill out officials’ roster
Embed from Getty Images The NFL has hired four more officials due a late shuffle of retirements and front office moves. The new hires, with their most recent college position, are: U -- Steve Woods (Big Ten) L -- Brian Bolinger (Big Ten) B -- Mearl Robinson (Pac 12) L -- Danny Short (ACC) All four officials
New officiating leadership team strong and prepared
Embed from Getty Images The new officiating year starts today and the NFL leadership team is in place -- Al Riveron as senior vice president of officiating, Wayne Mackie as vice president of officiating evaluation and development and Russell Yurk as vice president of replay and administration. Due to the relatively short notice
The science of building good NFL crews
Embed from Getty Images As NFL officials prepare for their mini-clinic in May, the NFL officiating office is building 17 officiating crews. Exiting senior vice president for officiating Dean Blandino will oversee the rest of the offseason (which ends May 15 for officials), so he has a say in the crew
NFL to propose developmental league = more officiating opportunities
Embed from Getty Images The NFL announced this week that it will propose a new developmental league to help train prospective players and provide opportunities for coaches, scouts and officials. For over several years the NFL helped sponsor a developmental league, first the World League of American Football (WLAF) and NFL Europe. There
More officials in the development pipeline, as NFL expands training program
Embed from Getty Images 29 individuals take part in on-field audition This year, the NFL has accepted 29 developmental officials in its annual preseason training program, up from the 21 slots open in the previous three seasons the program has been run. This practice squad for officials was known as the advanced