2015 Postseason
Wild Card referees: Torbert, Parry, Coleman, Steratore
Football Zebras has confirmed the referees for the Wild Card weekend. Officials are listed with their uniform number, years of NFL experience (including this season), the crew each official worked with in the regular season (by the referee’s name), college, and outside occupation.
All times are Eastern.
Three alternates are assigned to each game: generally, one is designated for the offensive backfield (a referee or umpire), one is on the line of scrimmage (head linesman or line judge), and one is a deep position (side judge, field judge, or back judge). When alternates are listed, their position during the regular season is also given. The prior playoff experience that is listed for the crew chief includes his service as an NFL official, including as referee and any other crew position (excluding alternate assignments).
Saturday, Jan. 9
AFC Wild Card: Chiefs at Texans, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN/ABC)
Ron Torbert is the referee, who is in his 6th season and 2nd as referee. This is the first season he is eligible for a postseason assignment at the referee position. (First-year referees and first-year officials cannot qualify for postseason assignments.) This is his 4th postseason assignment (2 Wild Card Playoffs and 2 Divisional Playoffs); he has received a playoff assignment in every year he was eligible.
| Yrs | 2015 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 62 | Ron Torbert | 6 | Michigan State | attorney | |
| U | 124 | Carl Paganelli | 16 | Torbert | Michigan State | retired federal probation officer |
| HL | 48 | Jim Mello | 12 | Allen | Northeastern | facilities manager |
| LJ | 10 | Julian Mapp | 7 | Wrolstad | Grambling State | software QA tester |
| FJ | 67 | Doug Rosenbaum | 15 | Allen | Illinois Wesleyan | financial consultant |
| SJ | 55 | Alex Kemp | 2 | Triplette | Central Michigan | insurance agent |
| BJ | 133 | Steve Freeman | 15 | Triplette | Mississippi State | custom home builder |
- Replay Official: Billy Smith
- Replay Assistant: Jim Grant
- Alternates: Jeff Triplette (R), Greg Bradley (HL), ?
- Supervisor: Gary Slaughter
AFC Wild Card: Steelers at Bengals, 8:15 p.m. (CBS)
John Parry is the referee, who is in his 16th season and 9th as referee. This is Parry’s 11th postseason assignment, and his first since his Super Bowl assignment four years ago. Parry has been assigned to 2 Wild Card Playoffs, 6 Divisional Playoffs, 1 Conference Championship, and Super Bowls XLI and XLVI. The first Super Bowl assignment was as a side judge.
| Yrs | 2015 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 132 | John Parry | 16 | Purdue | financial advisor | |
| U | 131 | Mark Pellis | 2 | Parry | Allegheny | financial advisor |
| HL | 8 | Dana McKenzie | 8 | (swing) | Toledo | claims adjuster |
| LJ | 107 | Ron Marinucci | 19 | Hussey | Glassboro State | vice president, novelty cone company |
| FJ | 82 | Buddy Horton | 17 | Corrente | Oregon State | water service worker |
| SJ | 1 | Scott Novak | 2 | Cheffers | Phoenix | sales manager |
| BJ | 46 | Perry Paganelli | 18 | Parry | Hope College | retired high school administrator |
- Replay Official: Tom Sifferman
- Alternates: Jerome Boger (R), Ed Camp (HL), Steve Patrick (BJ)
Sunday, Jan. 10
NFC Wild Card: Seahawks at Vikings, 1 p.m. (NBC)
Walt Coleman is the referee, who is in his 27th season and 21st as referee; he has the most seniority of any current official. This will be Coleman’s 17th postseason assignment, including 6 Wild Card Playoffs, 9 Divisional Playoffs, and 2 Conference Championships.
| Yrs | 2015 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 65 | Walt Coleman | 27 | Arkansas | manager dairy processor | |
| U | 11 | Fred Bryan | 7 | Allen | Northern Iowa | superintendent, juvenile correctional facility |
| HL | 91 | Jerry Bergman | 14 | Coleman | Robert Morris | sales executive |
| LJ | 100 | Tom Symonette | 12 | Allen | Florida | certified public accountant |
| FJ | 88 | Brad Freeman | 2 | Cheffers | Mississippi State | sports park director |
| SJ | 97 | Tom Hill | 17 | Allen | Carson Newman | teacher |
| BJ | 39 | Rich Martinez | 2 | Coleman | Canisius | sales manager |
- Replay Official: Tommy Moore
- Replay Assistant: Glenn King
- Alternates: Brad Allen (R), ?, ?
- Supervisor: Garth DeFelice
- Observer: Alberto Riveron
NFC Wild Card: Packers at Washington, 4:40 p.m. (Fox)
Gene Steratore is the referee, who is in his 13th year and 10th as referee. This is his 9th postseason assignment, including 3 Wild Card Playoffs, 4 Divisional Playoffs, and 2 Conference Championships.
| Yrs | 2015 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 114 | Gene Steratore | 13 | Kent State | co-owner, supply company | |
| U | 40 | Butch Hannah | 17 | Anderson | Middle Tennessee State | retired federal probation officer |
| HL | 22 | Steve Stelljes | 14 | Anderson | Friends | business planning manager |
| LJ | 9 | Mark Perlman | 15 | Parry | Salem | teacher |
| FJ | 103 | Eugene Hall | 2 | Anderson | North Texas | federal agent |
| SJ | 25 | Bob Waggoner | 19 | Steratore | Juniata College | retired probation officer |
| BJ | 30 | Todd Prukop | 7 | Anderson | Cal State-Fullerton | medical sales representative |
- Replay Official: Paul Weidner
- Replay Assistant: Mike Chase
- Alternates: John Hussey* (R), Laird Hayes (SJ), Terrence Miles (BJ)
*Note: Hussey does not qualify for a postseason assignment since this is his first year as a referee, but he is qualified to work as an alternate.
