Concept- retired players as refs (1 Viewer)

[Bri]

On this week's Bussin, Clay Matthews and Delanie Walker discussed an idea of former players being referees.

Video here and significantly more details

https://x.com/BussinWTB/status/1969891696738795568

What do you think of this concept?

 

[Max Power]

I think it's a pretty bad idea personally. Being a good ref is harder than people think. It does require training and knowing where to look each play.

I don't see the knowledge of the "speed of the game" translating into better officiating.

The clear downside is these former players have personal relations with the players. That screams disaster.

 

[Joe Schmo]

AI says it's already a thing:

AI Overview

Several former NFL players have become NFL officials, including Mike Morton, Nate Jones, and Terry Killens, all of whom were hired in the years leading up to 2022. Terry Killens made history as the first person to both play in and officiate a Super Bowl, while Mike Morton is the first Super Bowl-winning player to become an NFL official.

Here are a few examples of former NFL players who have become NFL officials:

• Terry Killens: A former linebacker who became a referee, he is notable for being the first person to both play in and officiate a Super Bowl.
  
  
• Mike Morton: A linebacker for the Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, Green Bay Packers, and Indianapolis Colts, he is the first Super Bowl winner to become an NFL official.
  
  
• Nate Jones: An eight-year NFL veteran who played as a defensive back.
  
  
• Steve Freeman: A 13-season veteran defensive back who served as a back judge.
  
  
• Phil McKinnely: A former offensive lineman for seven years who served as a down judge.

 

[Gally]

I think in theory it seems like a good idea but in practice it wouldn't work great. It would take a specific type of player personality to be able to pull it off and I don't there would be very many ex-players that would fit that bill.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I think in theory it seems like a good idea but in practice it wouldn't work great. It would take a specific type of player personality to be able to pull it off and I don't there would be very many ex-players that would fit that bill.

Tony Dungy played all of one or maybe two seasons with the Steelers, didn't make it, went on to be a phenomenal head coach
Part of it I think is that he didn't play a Hall of Fame type career and jumped over to coaching quickly.
John Madden went on a similar path, in fact after college he never got to play an NFL down
I can see a person who maybe played 2-3 seasons in the NFL but was not a front line player and would not have as much bias built into them over a longer career

Trying to convert Kurt Warner to head referee as an example, not the best idea

 

[Runkle]

$12,000 a week is quite the step down from the NFLPA minimum per game

 

[sushinsky4tsar]

Meritocracy all the way. Stringent grading. Big difference in pay between the top graded crews and those bringing up the rear.

If $100K-250K or $300K is the current range, it feels like the high end needs to go up substantially in a $23 billion dollar industry where officiating can make a difference in the quality control of the product. If higher incentives open the door for more retired NFL players getting interested in breaking on to a crew, great.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

I think in theory it seems like a good idea but in practice it wouldn't work great. It would take a specific type of player personality to be able to pull it off and I don't there would be very many ex-players that would fit that bill.

Tony Dungy played all of one or maybe two seasons with the Steelers, didn't make it, went on to be a phenomenal head coach
Part of it I think is that he didn't play a Hall of Fame type career and jumped over to coaching quickly.
John Madden went on a similar path, in fact after college he never got to play an NFL down
I can see a person who maybe played 2-3 seasons in the NFL but was not a front line player and would not have as much bias built into them over a longer career

Trying to convert Kurt Warner to head referee as an example, not the best idea

Traditionally, backup QBs have made the most successful HCs: Dungy, Kubiak, O'Connell, Pederson. My theory is that anyone who's played QB tends to have certain leadership qualities, but a truly successful QB is never going to stoop to coaching when there are much more lucrative opportunities like GMing (Elway) or announcing (Brady, Romo, Aikman). Also, frequently the backup QB is serving as a kind of an in-game coach already.