TURNOVER FOOTBALL REF UPGRADE
TURNOVER FOOTBALL REF SERIES

Experienced NFL referees earn around $200,000 annually. The move was probably a net financial gain, according to Daopoulos. It was getting to the point where it was unrealistic to think that Al and Cris could really understand every nuance and every aspect of the game.' 'The rules seem to get more complicated and more nuanced every single year. 'This is my 29th year doing NFL games,' Gaudelli said. McAulay will be on site for Sunday night games as well as Notre Dame football broadcasts. This spring, Gaudelli was determined to get an expert's voice on air alongside announcer Al Michaels and analyst Cris Collinsworth. ESPN, according to a source, has hired Triplette to replace Gerry Austin on Monday Night Football.)įred Gaudelli, executive producer of NBC's Sunday Night Football, said he considered approaching Blandino in recent years but didn't think he would leave the NFL. (Fox Sports employs two former officiating chiefs, Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino. Each network that broadcasts NFL games now has at least one former referee or league executive on staff. The NFL can take part of the blame for the departures, having created a set of rules that can no longer be navigated by non-experts in real time. Everything just came together.'ĬBS declined a request to interview Steratore. That person could have been there for 10 years and then the opportunity is absolutely gone. 'If I didn't do it, somebody else would have. My wife and I discussed it for a while, the pros and cons, but ultimately it was the right thing to do at the right time. It was just too awesome of an opportunity to pass up. There are only 17 referees, and there are only four spots for. I had 20 years in the NFL, but I've also had a pretty good career. 'It wasn't something I was actively seeking out. 'I had a minimum of another five years in the NFL left in me,' McAulay said. If anything, McAulay said, it was a perfect storm of events. There is no evidence to suggest either was upset or otherwise fleeing an untenable situation. Suddenly, two of the NFL's most respected referees were gone in McAulay and Steratore. They were replaced quickly by Shawn Hochuli and Alex Kemp each is the son of a referee - Ed Hochuli and Stan Kemp - and have long been earmarked as future referees.Īccording to sources, however, NBC approached multiple NFL referees about a job in late spring that its executives felt was essential to broadcasting football games: a rules expert. Both spoke privately about it for months. The NFL was expecting two: Ed Hochuli and Jeff Triplette. 'These are probably the most significant rule changes I've seen in my career in one season,' McAulay told ESPN.įour referees retired this spring, the most in one offseason in league history, according to research by Football Zebras. But former referee Terry McAulay, who retired last month to join NBC Sports, said the concern is real.

Officials themselves are barred from speaking with reporters. The NFL did not respond to a request for comment from Riveron, who is scheduled to speak with reporters on Friday in Dallas. You think about the experience he's lost this year and trying to replace these guys, it's going to make for some tough Sundays watching football.' 'It's going to be a very interesting year, and I think Al Riveron has really got his hands full. You've got so many things that the young officials are going to have to learn and the veteran officials are going to have to learn. 'To be quite honest,' former NFL officiating supervisor Jim Daopoulos said, 'I have a concern about the level of officiating because of the inexperience out there and with the new rule changes. In short, the NFL will navigate the biggest collection of rule changes in recent memory this year with one of its least experienced groups of officials ever. Some of the apprehension will be soothed there, but even informed observers worry that the NFL is asking too much of the department, given the circumstances. That confluence will make for a hectic three days this weekend in Dallas, where senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron will lead the league's annual officiating clinic.

TURNOVER FOOTBALL REF SERIES

And because of late approval from owners, hardly any of the league's 121 officials have been briefed in detail on a series of rule changes that will require fundamental changes in the way they administrate games. There has been unprecedented turnover among referees, including two unexpected retirements last month. Preseason games are less than a month away.

The first training camp opens in 10 days. Should NFL worry about referee turnover? Here's why there's concernĪ new anxiety is filtering through the NFL's officiating ranks.

TURNOVER FOOTBALL REF UPGRADE

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