Football Zebras has confirmed that John Parry will be the referee for Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. Senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron first reported the assignment.
Parry, 53, is currently in his 19th season and 12th as referee. Super Bowl LIII will be Parry’s 13th postseason assignment; among those including 2 Wild Card Playoffs, 7 Divisional Playoffs, and 1 Conference Championship. This will also be Parry’s third Super Bowl assignment — the highest total of any active NFL referee. Parry was the referee for Super Bowl XLVI following the 2011 season and was the side judge on Tony Corrente’s crew for Super Bowl XLI. Parry was the referee for the Cowboys-Rams Divisional Playoff last Sunday.
Parry is an independent financial advisor in Ohio, which he has done since 2005. Prior to that, he was a corporate pilot for 18 years. Parry is also a public speaker.
Line judge Jeff Bergman will set a new record for most years between return trips to the Super Bowl with this assignment, making it 22 years since his last assignment, which was following the 1996 season for Super Bowl XXXI. The previous record was held by former field judge Scott Steenson who had 17 years between Super Bowl assignments.
A referee must have at least 5 years of seniority, worked 3 years at the referee position, and worked a playoff game as a referee in a previous postseason. The other members of the Super Bowl crew must have a Conference Championship game on their résumé (or received on-field assignments in 3 of the last 5 postseasons) in addition to being at least a 5-year veteran.
| Yrs | 2018 crew | College | Occupation | Prev. Playoff | Prev. SB | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 132 | John Parry | 19 | Purdue | financial advisor | 2 WC, 7 DIV, 1 CC | XLI, XLVI | |
| U | 11 | Fred Bryan | 10 | Martin | Northern Iowa | superintendent, juvenile correctional facility | 3 WC, 2 DIV, 1 CC | |
| DJ | 134 | Ed Camp | 19 | Hochuli | William Paterson | physical education teacher | 4 WC, 5 DIV, 1 CC | |
| LJ | 32 | Jeff Bergman | 27 | Kemp | Robert Morris | president and chief executive officer, medical services | 8 WC, 8 DIV, 3 CC | XXXI |
| FJ | 33 | Steve Zimmer | 22 | Allen | Hofstra | attorney | 7 WC, 8 DIV, 4 CC | XL |
| SJ | 103 | Eugene Hall | 5 | Cheffers | North Texas | federal agent | 3 WC, 1 DIV, 1 CC | |
| BJ | 111 | Terrence Miles | 11 | Allen | Arizona State | quality control manager | 2 WC, 3 DIV 1 CC | XLIX |
- Replay official: Jim Lapetina
- Replay assistant: Chad Adams
- Alternates:
- Referee: Ron Torbert
- Umpire: Mark Pellis
- Short wing: Tom Stephan
- Deep wing: Michael Banks
- Back judge: Rich Martinez
Image: Football Zebras graphic by Chad Young, Diamond Images, Atlanta Falcons
Very interesting. As the elders retire the new ones step up. I did not see many of John Parry games this year. Guess he was the #1 ranked referee since he got the Super Bowl
The article forgot to mention John’s father, Dave Parry, was the side judge for Super Bowl XVII.
How did Ed Camp ever get a super bowl. He is horrible. It’s to bad that Brad Allen got shut out of the playoffs as he is a great Referee.
Ed camp also worked high school football this year. That should be a no-no. While a legitimate high school official was sitting on the sidelines, Ed Camp worked high school football.
Jeff Bergman maybe the last ACME Thunderer metal whistle user in the league.
Parry also recently began working as a tennis line judge and was selected for the qualifying round of the 2018 US Open.