“I Don’t Think the NFL Will Ever Be Transparent…”: Former HC Dishes Honest Thoughts on NFL’s Decision on Controversial Rule

Ever since a questionable call decided the Super Bowl finals, the NFL review system has been under a lot of scrutiny. It’s not just the Eagles fan that complained. The league drew flak from every imaginable direction.

This is however, not the first time the review system has been questioned. Having introduced the rule back in 1985, the NFL tested a review system during eight preseason games — producing promising results.

The NFL Director of Administration at the time, Joe Rhein said, ” It’s possible to review instant replays [in the press box] and get the word to the referee on the field without a significant loss of time.” Thirty-eight years later, the rule is still in a questionable place.

Former NFL player and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Chuck Pagano appeared on the Pat McAfee show to share his take on the matter.

Is transparency a concern for the NFL?

As it is often discussed, something needs to change within the NFL referring, and the best bet to do that would be a much refined ‘reviewing’ system. The XFL for example did a mighty fine job, leaving many NFL fans and entities gravitating toward the idea. But that was back in 2019, and ever since iterations of the ‘reviews’ have been in much demand.

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Chuck Pagano and Pat McAfee shared a similar conversation.

As McAfee went on his rant, about how the NFL needs a structure similar to the XFL, with someone in the booth talking directly to the ref and letting the public be a part of the conversation. He went on to slam the decisions as well, “ The decisions are inconclusive and we can’t overturn them. But the NFL will never let these conversations be heard.”

Pagano however had a more sympathetic approach to the thing, “I don’t think there is any way, they will do that. They wanna get it right, believe me, I worked in that office, and we all understand how difficult the job is to officiate, especially in real-time. We all got all the answers Monday morning, and we slow it down, but I think they will never be that transparent. And they will just keep moving along.”

Accountability

Despite all the criticism, the referees are indeed held accountable by the league. On a public scale, the NFL only recognizes the gravest of mistakes, but behind closed doors, they have a grading system. The referees with the highest grades are usually the ones getting appointed for Super Bowl games.

According to Jerry Frump, a former official with the league, “The NFL has a very sophisticated evaluation system. Every single play is graded. Every official’s performance on every play is reviewed by league staff members with on-field officiating experience.”

So, we can assume that the league is certainly doing its best to get the best people for the job, still, the human eye tends to miscomprehend information from time to time and that is just a part and parcel of the game.

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