Al Riveron is leaving the league office.
Riveron, who was appointed the head of the officiating department in 2017 after Dean Blandino left for FOX, is retiring, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.
The NFL had already reduced Riveron’s load by giving more of the work to Walt Anderson and Perry Fewell, and now Anderson and Fewell will run the officiating department.
NFL officiating is often a punching bag for football fans, and Riveron took his share of criticism, most recently for a replay review on a Josh Allen incompletion in the playoffs that under NFL rules should not have been reviewed.
In fairness to Riveron, however, the league’s complex rulebook isn’t easy for anyone to administer, and there will surely be plenty more officiating issues that come up this season. No matter who’s running the officiating department, it’s a hard job to do well.
