Football Zebras has confirmed the officiating crews for the Wild Card Playoffs.
This year, the NFL has moved to six Wild Card Playoff games. Since 2017, the Conference Championship officials have been selected from those who worked Wild Card Playoff games.
Also, the NFL has moved to five alternates for the early postseason rounds, up one from last year. The alternate officials are a referee, an umpire, a line of scrimmage official (down judge or line judge), a deep wing official (field judge or side judge), and a back judge. Officials who have alternate assignments are still eligible for an on-field assignment in the Divisional Playoffs.
All times are Eastern. 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).
As has been the case this season, scheduled assignments are subject to change during the pandemic.
Saturday, Jan. 9
AFC Wild Card: Colts at Bills, 1:05 p.m. CBS
Brad Allen is the referee, who is in his 7th season. This is Allen’s 3rd postseason assignment: his second Wild Card Playoff plus a Divisional Playoff. Allen was hired directly to the referee position from the NCAA in 2014.
| Yrs | 2020 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 122 | Brad Allen | 7 | Pembroke State | non-profit CEO | |
| U | 121 | Paul King | 12 | Hill | Nichols College | teacher |
| DJ | 113 | Danny Short | 4 | Allen | North Carolina-Charlotte | executive director, global sales operations |
| LJ | 47 | Tim Podraza | 13 | Cheffers | Nebraska | business performance consultant |
| FJ | 43 | Terry Brown | 15 | Kemp | Tennessee | court director |
| SJ | 36 | Anthony Jeffries | 3 | Boger | Alabama-Birmingham | medical sales |
| BJ | 67 | Tony Josselyn | 3 | (swing) | Eastern Kentucky | probation officer |
- Replay official: Mark Butterworth
- Replay assistant: Brian Uhrmacher
- Alternates:
- Referee: Shawn Hochuli
- Umpire: Alan Eck
- Line of scrimmage: Mark Hittner (DJ)
- Deep wing: Michael Banks (SJ)
- Back judge: Perry Paganelli
NFC Wild Card: Rams at Seahawks, 4:40 p.m. Fox
John Hussey is the referee, who is in his 19th season and 6th as referee. This is Hussey’s 14th postseason assignment, including 6 Wild Card Playoffs, 4 Divisional Playoffs, 3 Conference Championships, and Super Bowl XLV. His Super Bowl assignment was as a line judge.
| Yrs | 2020 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 35 | John Hussey | 19 | Idaho State | sales representative | |
| U | 115 | Tony Michalek | 19 | Vinovich | Indiana | chief executive officer |
| DJ | 106 | Patrick Holt | 2 | Torbert | North Carolina State | IT manager |
| LJ | 48 | Jim Mello | 17 | Torbert | Northeastern | facilities manager |
| FJ | 22 | Steve Zimmer | 24 | Hussey | Hofstra | attorney |
| SJ | 26 | Jabir Walker | 6 | Kemp | Murray State | middle school teacher |
| BJ | 39 | Rich Martinez | 7 | Hochuli | Canisius | sales manager |
- Replay official: Brian Matoren
- Replay assistant: Gavin Anderson
- Alternates:
- Referee: Craig Wrolstad
- Umpire: Terry Killens
- Line of scrimmage: David Oliver (LJ)
- Deep wing: Jeff Lamberth (FJ)
- Back judge: Keith Ferguson
NFC Wild Card: Buccaneers at WAS Football Team, 8:15 p.m. NBC
Scott Novak is the referee, who is in his 7th season and 2nd as referee. This is Novak’s 4th postseason assignment, and his first as referee. His first three assignments, a Wild Card Playoff and 2 Divisional Playoffs, were at deep wing positions (field judge and side judge).
| Yrs | 2020 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1 | Scott Novak | 7 | Phoenix | sales manager | |
| U | 54 | Steve Woods | 4 | Novak | Wabash | financial advisor |
| DJ | 74 | Derick Bowers | 18 | Martin | East Central | sales representative |
| LJ | 2 | Bart Longson | 6 | Corrente | Brigham Young | finance |
| FJ | 104 | Dale Shaw | 8 | Boger | Allegheny | pharmaceutical sales |
| SJ | 125 | Chad Hill | 3 | Hochuli | Mississippi | medical sales |
| BJ | 111 | Terrence Miles | 13 | Novak | Arizona State | quality control manager |
- Replay official: Jimmy Oldham
- Replay assistant: Des Abrams
- Alternates:
- Referee: Bill Vinovich
- Umpire: Bruce Stritesky
- Line of scrimmage: Patrick Turner (DJ)
- Deep wing: Dave Meslow (FJ)
- Back judge: Matt Edwards
Sunday, Jan. 10
AFC Wild Card: Ravens at Titans, 1:05 p.m. ABC ESPN ESPN2 FREEFORM ESPN+
Jerome Boger is the referee, who is in his 17th season and 15th as referee. This is Boger’s 6th postseason assignment, his first in the Wild Card round plus 4 Divisional Playoffs and Super Bowl XLVII. This is Boger’s first on-field postseason assignment since the Super Bowl, not including the Pro Bowl in January 2017.
| Yrs | 2020 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 23 | Jerome Boger | 17 | Morehouse College | retired commercial insurance underwriter | |
| U | 124 | Carl Paganelli | 21 | Kemp | Michigan State | retired federal probation officer |
| DJ | 40 | Brian Bolinger | 4 | Hussey | Indiana State | corporate safety director |
| LJ | 65 | Walt Coleman IV | 6 | Rogers | Southern Methodist | portfolio manager |
| FJ | 116 | Mike Weatherford | 19 | Martin | Oklahoma State | oil and gas business |
| SJ | 7 | Keith Washington | 13 | Hill | Virginia Military Institute | program financial analyst |
| BJ | 88 | Brad Freeman | 7 | Boger | Mississippi State | sports park director |
- Replay official: John McGrath
- Replay assistant: Artenzia Young-Seigler
- Alternates:
- Referee: Tony Corrente
- Umpire: Barry Anderson
- Line of scrimmage: Jeff Seeman (LJ)
- Deep wing: Jim Quirk (FJ)
- Back judge: Todd Prukop
NFC Wild Card: Bears at Saints, 4:40 p.m. CBS NICK PRIME
Alex Kemp is the referee, who is in his 7th season and 3rd as referee. This is Kemp’s 3rd postseason assignment, and his first as referee. His first two assignments were both Wild Card Playoffs as a side judge.
| Yrs | 2020 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 55 | Alex Kemp | 7 | Central Michigan | insurance agent | |
| U | 64 | Dan Ferrell | 18 | Corrente | Cal State-Fullerton | retired logistics and supply chain executive |
| DJ | 8 | Dana McKenzie | 13 | Kemp | Toledo | claims adjuster |
| LJ | 98 | Greg Bradley | 12 | Kemp | Tennessee | chemical engineer |
| FJ | 42 | Nate Jones | 2 | Rogers | Rutgers | firefighter/EMT |
| SJ | 107 | Dave Hawkshaw | 2 | Wrolstad | Justice Institute of B.C. | firefighter |
| BJ | 93 | Scott Helverson | 18 | Blakeman | Iowa | sales, printing and promotions |
- Replay official: Mike Chase
- Replay assistant: Alton James
- Alternates:
- Referee: Adrian Hill
- Umpire: Mark Pellis
- Line of scrimmage: Carl Johnson (LJ)
- Deep wing: Jimmy Buchanan (SJ)
- Back judge: Jimmy Russell
AFC Wild Card: Browns at Steelers, 8:15 p.m. NBC TELEMUNDO PEACOCK
Shawn Smith is the referee, who is in his 6th season and 3rd as referee. This is Smith’s 5th postseason assignment, including 3 Wild Card Playoffs, a Divisional Playoff, and a Conference Championship. He has had at least one playoff assignment in every season he was eligible.
| Yrs | 2020 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 14 | Shawn Smith | 6 | Ferris State | finance | |
| U | 92 | Bryan Neale | 7 | Smith | Indiana | sales consultant |
| DJ | 79 | Kent Payne | 17 | Novak | Nebraska Wesleyan | agribusinessman |
| LJ | 75 | Mark Stewart | 3 | Clark | Pittsburg State | rancher |
| FJ | 109 | Dyrol Prioleau | 14 | Smith | Johnson C Smith | manager, law firm |
| SJ | 58 | Don Willard | 3 | Vinovich | Illinois State | physical therapist |
| BJ | 119 | Greg Wilson | 13 | Cheffers | USC | retired police officer |
- Replay official: Roddy Ames
- Replay assistant: Gerald Frye
- Alternates
- Referee: Clete Blakeman
- Umpire: Rich Hall
- Line of scrimmage: Tripp Sutter (DJ)
- Deep wing: Gary Cavaletto (FJ)
- Back judge: Greg Steed
Any Predictions what Ref will get Green Bay in Divisional Round?
I think we will see a lot of the alternates work the Divisional Round. Expect to see Bill Vinovich, Clete Blakeman, Tony Corrente, Craig Wrolstad on the field.
I think Super Bowl referee is Tony Corrente or Clete Blakeman. Vinovich cannot work this one even though he is the best referee in the league. Corrente worked AFC Championship game last year, is hugely underrated, has some of the best announcements on the mic, and is running out of years. Tony is also one of the nicest people on the face of the earth. No relation to him, but rooting for him to get the nod in Tampa.
Good lord. Boger is easily the worst referee in the league. Utter trash, the NFL should be embarrassed he is still around.
Would’ve rather had any of the other guys or alts. Hell, I’d rather have Jeff Triplette or Ron Winter.
I agree with you Football Observer…
I honestly thought last year that Corrente was going to be the Super Bowl referee, but perhaps just got out-graded by Vinovich. This year from what I saw, Corrente had another solid season and I, too, have him pegged as my frontrunner for SB LV.
The only other name I would throw in the ring for potential SB white hat is Carl Cheffers again. He always runs a tight ship. My thoughts for Divisional Round are: Corrente, Cheffers, Blakeman, Vinovich
Hochuli will be in Divisional round
Who will probably go to Green Bay for divisional round?
Vinovich, Corrente, and Blakeman are the top three officials in the NFL. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Torbert in the divisional round. I don’t understand how Boger was better than Wrolstad or Hochuli.
Hochuli will get A playoff game this year he did last year
My division round referees prediction is Blakeman,Wrolstad,Cheffers and Torbert.
My division round referees prediction is Blakeman,Wrolstad,Cheffers,corrente/Torbert and my Superbowl referee prediction is Blakeman,or Corrente or Cheffers
fast post wild card crews head referees talk to 2nd white hat rulings
We know why Boger makes these postseason appearances.
As long as #53 has an assignment this week or next, it will all be good.