Mike Pereira has spent decades working as an on-field official, then as the NFL’s supervisor of officials, then as an officiating analyst for Fox. And he thinks it’s time for the NFL to make a major change to the way it employs referees.
Pereira says that the 17 referees, who lead each of the NFL’s officiating crews, should be full-time employees who work all week on the job, located in one office where they’re meeting in person to ensure consistency in their understanding of rules and game management.
“I think it’s time to look at full-time officials,” Pereira told the Charlotte Observer. “Not everyone. But I do believe that the person that represents the crew in the field, the guy in the white hat, the referee — I think those 17 people should be full-time working together all year. Not going home in between games, but going to an officiating institute and breaking down all the games together, so the messages are consistent. . . . I’m not a fan of making everyone full-time, but make the referees full-time. To me, it’s time for that.”
Pereira made his comments before the divisional round of the playoffs, so he was not reacting to some of the controversial calls coming out of the weekend. Instead, he was taking a broader view, based on his wealth of experience working in officiating.
Most NFL referees have full-time jobs elsewhere and spend more time on their other careers than they do on refereeing. The NFL has resisted making refs full-time employees primarily because that would cost the league more money. But the man who was once in charge of overseeing those refs thinks it’s money the NFL needs to spend.
