Inspired by this Pit thread on NFL referees being over-protective of quarterbacks (NFL referees are out of hand. - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board) and by the fact that I watched that game. (I can hardly complain, because it was our quarterback being protected, and we needed the help … but it was a really minor ‘roughing’ of the passer.)
Watching on TV, with instant replays from various angles, I’ve often seen where an official makes a call that is at best, questionable, and often clearly wrong. Sometimes these calls very directly affect the game, and can even determine the winner.
There is now the procedures for challenging a call on the field, with the instant replay. But what about off the field, after the game? Does someone in the NFL view films and evaluate the performance of officials? What are the consequences for an official when they blow a major call? And what if they do this on a regular basis? Anybody know?
I know that coaches are prohibited by the NFL from commenting on any mistakes by officials. (We once had a Minnesota coach who did so anyway, and paid some fines for it. He also complained to the NFL (and stated in public) that certain officials (whom he identified by name) were biased against his team, and he objected to being forced to play under those officials.)
NFL and college officials are graded every game. They are generally sent a tape mid-week with a report about what they did right and what they did wrong. Some conferences will have a supervisor at the game to speak to officials immediately following the game (and, perhaps, at halftime as well)
The best officials are offered playoff / bowl games. The worst do not have their contracts renewed for the next season. In unusual but especially bad circumstances, and official may be dismissed mid-season.
Even high school refs are evaluated, with better refs getting more games and better games.
Pro sports have officiating unions, who protect members from undue public criticism, but behind closed doors, people can get reamed for screw-ups.
So it appears this is all done in secret, with no way for us paying customers to find out about it?
Is there an end-of-season listing of the officials, with their cumulative ratings listed? (Like all the players have.)
Or even a list of dismissed officials, who will not be hired back for the next season?
(Seems like an opportunity for yet another feature in the Fantasy Football games.)
You and I don’t have that data because the only people who could accurately publish it are the folks who run the NFL, and their stance on coaches and commenting seems clear. But since amisplaced Holding call on 2nd down or a Defensive Pass Interference call on 3rd and long can end or extend a drive, both teams have a financial incentive to know what they can and can’t get away with. I would bet that every team in the NFL tracks which officials are working in which regions, and the offensive and defensive coordinators know which refs tend to call “hard” and “easy” on which tactics. I bet some of the coaches know the refs’ preferences better than the refs realize their own internal biases, even. Of course it might be against the rules (or guidelines) to collect data on officials.
Should every business post it’s employee’s evaluations somewhere for the customers to review?
There isn’t but it’s pretty easy to figure out:
The best guys work the Super Bowl
The next best work the conf. championships
the next best work the divisional round
the next best work the wild card round
(There is overlap in each group)
While there’s no list of dismissed officials, you can compare this year’s list to last year’s list and draw your own conclusions. Some officials retire, though, some quit due to injury, and I know a few simply decide the NFL is not for them.
Is there more to this story? It seems that in the four “blown” calls detailed, the first he ruled correctly (“heads-tails”), the second one he was responsible for because he was the referee and didn’t overrule his head linesman (I presume he didn’t have as good a view of the action from where he was standing), the “Music City Miracle” is still being debated to this day whether the pass really was a lateral or a forward pass and many sources seem to say it was a good call, and in the final one he was run over by a ball player.
That doesn’t seem like grounds to me to relegate someone to back judge unless there’s more history than this.
Read the linked article in Referee magazine for a bit more on the coin toss, and you get the impression Luckett became a scape goat/whipping boy extrodinaire.
FTR, the head ref stands behind the offense to the right, and will only signal touchdowns on his own for defensive and special teams touchdown returns. For goalline lunges, he’s got the worst view in the stadium.
Except after last year’s Super Bowl, Mike Holmgren complained several times on national and local television about poor calls against the Seahawks during the game, and I believe it was one of the very few times that the league did not fine a coach for the comments… take that to mean what you will about the league’s take on those calls (even though they publicly defended the officiating)…
I should add to my previous post… that being said, the refs from the Super Bowl last year are rightfully considered to be some of the best in the sport and usually do a good job, and I don’t think any suffered any consequences from the Super Bowl calls. Just didn’t fall the Seahawk’s way last year.
