The full scope of the adjustments to the usual officiating crews is not yet officially known, but it is clear that Friday’s nationwide ground stop will result in significant changes to the standard groupings of officiating crews.
On Saturday morning, the NFL announced that three non-referees will serve as referees for four Week 10 games, with one of them, Don Willard, officiating the 1:00 p.m. ET game between the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts before traveling to Cincinnati for Sunday night’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Bengals matchup.
According to Ben Austro of FootballZebras.com, three referees will work in other roles on Sunday.
Referee Carl Cheffers and referee Alex Kemp will serve as umpires, while referee Shawn Hochuli will work as a back judge.
The reconfiguration followed the NFL’s decision to assign officials to games within driving distance of their homes.
Austro also noted that the replay officials for all Sunday games will work out of NFL headquarters. They had been in Detroit on Friday for an all-day, in-person training session. Instead of dispersing to the various game locations, they all remained in New York.
The situation sets the stage for what could be a distinctive day. Any mistakes during the games may be attributed to the NFL’s inability to get officials where they needed to be. If operations proceed smoothly, however, it could prompt the NFL to reconsider its overall staffing plan or identify ways to reduce expenses.
Regardless, Sunday could prove interesting. The players and coaches will be in position, but the officials will not, and the deck has been dramatically reshuffled to ensure each game is properly staffed.
