When the NFL shifted the replay function from the various stadiums to 345 Park Avenue, the goal was to centralize the process in one place, with one person applying the proper standard as to each and every review. Now, the power could be de-centralized, at least for a little while.
Via Tom Friend of SportTechie.com, the NFL’s West Coast office likely will become a new hub for replay review. It’s unclear whether the L.A. office would supplement the New York operation or eventually replace it.
Either way, the goal is to loosen the logjam that often arises during the cluster of 1:00 p.m. ET games on every given Sunday. The league’s current configuration in New York makes the situation difficult, at times.
NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent told Friend that the West Coast operation provided replay oversight for “undisclosed games” during Week Seven, Week 11, and Week 15 of the 2021 season.
“Sundays are really difficult,” Vincent said. “So we were just doing a proof of concept to have a similar setup to what we have in New York. We were just building just to make sure, ‘Can we do a single-game window [in L.A.]? Can we do the four o’clock [ET games]? The one o’clock window is a bear. Because you’ve got [many] games going on at one time. So the one o’clock, 10 a.m. West Coast, can you do [some of] it out here? Yes, but you’ve got to have the right setup. So that’s all. We were just testing a proof of concept.”
Vincent explained that a “full split” won’t happen in the 2022 season.
“Right now, base is in New York,” Vincent said. “But just building out. We did three games here during this campaign. Did it work? Was the communication right? We know it works. Now we can see if we can keep building on that momentum. And eventually, maybe, this could potentially become the hub.”
Whether it’s “the hub” or “a hub” remains unclear. Regardless, the league currently is moving toward altering one of the main justifications for sending repay review to New York -- doing all of the reviews in one place, with one person making the decisions.
