I don;t think anyone would argue that the officiating in the NFL has become awful at best and downright abysmal in other cases. I know there has been a lot of discussion with regards to full time officials, but if the same cast of officials are still maintained, I am not certain if it would really make a difference. My wife asked me while watching the Oakland game on Monday night what I would do to fix officiating in the NFL. After giving it some thought, I would offer the following:
1. There are PLENTY of elite athletes coming out of D1 and D2 college programs that will not make it in the NFL.
2. Many of these players have little to fall back on if things do not work out for them in the NFL
3. The NFL should support a full time officiating program that brings in many of these gifted athletes and transitions them into being FT officials. The Program could start at the HS level with promotions to the college and finally professional level based on a grading system as well as experience factor.
4. This would enable many of these athletes that know and understand the game, understand the inner workings of the game, and also understand the fine line that exists as it relates to player safety, the opportunity to stay close to the game while taking advantage of their athleticism and experience.
5. You would have a constant influx of new talent into the program that would enable their to always be competition for open positions or to weed out officials that routinely grade out poorly.
6. The pay scale could be graduated based on the level of games you are qualified to officiate, your overall time in the program, with additional bonuses based on how you grade out over the course of the year.
7. Anything has to be better than what we currently have...
What are your thoughts, could an officiating program become a reality? What are the drawbacks to a program that draws officials from former players?
1. There are PLENTY of elite athletes coming out of D1 and D2 college programs that will not make it in the NFL.
2. Many of these players have little to fall back on if things do not work out for them in the NFL
3. The NFL should support a full time officiating program that brings in many of these gifted athletes and transitions them into being FT officials. The Program could start at the HS level with promotions to the college and finally professional level based on a grading system as well as experience factor.
4. This would enable many of these athletes that know and understand the game, understand the inner workings of the game, and also understand the fine line that exists as it relates to player safety, the opportunity to stay close to the game while taking advantage of their athleticism and experience.
5. You would have a constant influx of new talent into the program that would enable their to always be competition for open positions or to weed out officials that routinely grade out poorly.
6. The pay scale could be graduated based on the level of games you are qualified to officiate, your overall time in the program, with additional bonuses based on how you grade out over the course of the year.
7. Anything has to be better than what we currently have...
What are your thoughts, could an officiating program become a reality? What are the drawbacks to a program that draws officials from former players?
