Football Zebras exclusive
Football Zebras has confirmed that Bill Vinovich will be the referee for Super Bowl LIV in Miami.
Vinovich, 58, is currently in his 14th season and 11th as referee. Super Bowl LIV will be Vinovich’s 14th postseason assignment, including 3 Wild Card Playoffs, 5 Divisional Playoffs, 4 Conference Championships. This will also be Vinovich’s second Super Bowl assignment. Vinovich was the referee for Super Bowl XLIX following the 2014 season. Vinovich was the referee for the Titans-Ravens Divisional Playoff last Saturday.
The NFL has decided to forego traditional assignment procedures by assigning Vinovich to three postseason games. In addition to his Divisional Playoff assignment, Vinovich was the alternate referee for the Wild Card Playoff between the Titans and Patriots. Typically, officials are only assigned to a maximum of two postseason assignments per season, including alternate assignments. This coincides with the assignment of Tony Corrente to the AFC Championship Game, who was also assigned to two postseason games in the early rounds of the playoffs.
Vinovich is a certified public accountant from Lake Forest, Calif. Vinovich also served as a supervisor of NFL officials for 5 seasons; a position he held while sidelined from on-field officiating due to a near-fatal heart condition.
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.
This crew collectively has the most prior Super Bowl experience than any Super Bowl crew since Super Bowl XXXIV following the 1999 season.
Umpire Barry Anderson will be officiating in his first Super Bowl this season, while the other six officials have taken a trip to Super Bowl Sunday before. In addition to Vinovich, this will be the second Super Bowl for line judge Carl Johnson, field judge Michael Banks, and back judge Greg Steed. Down judge Kent Payne and side judge Boris Cheek will both be working their third Super Bowl this year.
| Yrs | 2019 crew | College | Occupation | Prev. Playoff | Prev. SB | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 52 | Bill Vinovich | 14 | San Diego | certified public accountant | 3 WC, 5 DIV, 4 CC | XLIX | |
| U | 20 | Barry Anderson | 13 | Allen | North Carolina State | builder developer | 3 WC, 5 DIV | |
| DJ | 79 | Kent Payne | 16 | Rogers | Nebraska Wesleyan | teacher | 3 WC, 5 DIV, 8 CC | XLV, LI |
| LJ | 101 | Carl Johnson | 16 | Hussey | Nicholls State | former full-time official | 3 WC, 7 DIV, 2 CC | XLII |
| FJ | 72 | Michael Banks | 18 | Cheffers | Illinois State | carpenter foreman | 4 WC, 5 DIV | XLIII |
| SJ | 41 | Boris Cheek | 24 | Corrente | Morgan State | director of operations and management | 6 WC, 5 DIV, 2 CC | XLII, 50 |
| BJ | 12 | Greg Steed | 17 | Rogers | Howard | computer systems analyst | 4 WC, 2 DIV, 2 CC | XLIV |
- Replay official: Mike Chase
- Replay assistant: Marv LeBlanc
- Alternates:
- Referee: John Hussey
- Umpire: Bryan Neale
- Short wing: Tom Stephan
- Deep wing: Jimmy Buchanan
- Back judge: Greg Wilson
laughable following his shambolic performance in last years NFC championship game.
@Tom Yelland001 Yes because a referee is usually responsible for throwing Pass Interference flags. C’mon man.
Good choice! Now all I need is for Panic! at the Disco’s lead vocalist Brendon Urie to be chosen to sing the national anthem and for Sabrina Carpenter to sing “America the Beautiful”. And then you get a complete Super Bowl LIV wish list!
After last year’s NFC game
Wow
Wow if the Chiefs and Packers win Bill Vinovich would referee both of their matchups this year just like Mike Carey did for the Giants Patriots in Super Bowl XLII also on FOX
The first majority black Super Bowl officiating crew
Did anybody notice Hussey is the alternate? This would be his 4th assignment for the playoffs/SB
Hey Cam. Anyway you can generate a list of this years officials that were eligible for playoff assignments and were shut out? Thanks
The back line is a joke. They have all been given a Super Bowl in the past when clearly they are not considered top officials. Between the three of them they have been totally left off the playoff schedule 47% of the time
Here is their record in the last 10 years of their top game worked:
Steed – including this one, two Super Bowls, zero conf championships, Zero divisional games, 4 WC games 4 seasons without a playoff assignment
Banks – This Super Bowl, zero conference championships, 1 divisional game, 2 WC games, 6 seasons without a playoff assignment (including last year)
Cheek – including this one, second Super Bowl, one conference championship, 1 divisional game, 3 WC games and 4 seasons without a playoff assignment (including last year!)
Combined for 30 years – 5 Super Bowls, ONE conference championship, TWO divisional games, 9 wild card games and 14 seasons without a playoff assignment – almost half they were in the bottom quartile.
One conference championship game between all of them. What does that tell you?