Top 10 reasons the NFL needs a new head of officials

Blandino Is Increasingly Seen As A Company Man.

Dean Blandino was chosen for his current role for a couple of reasons – his long time experience in the office of the Vice President of Officiating, and his media savvy. He’s a genuinely likeable guy who presents well on TV and eloquently explains the process to the fans.

Blandino has a serious issue on his hands, though. The complexity of the rules, combined with overreliance on replay, has made officials hesitant. Bad calls have been the result.

In order to rectify the situation, Blandino needs to be on the front lines in trying to make his referees’ jobs easier.

Instead, he seems all too willing to explain the rules, implying that we should just suck it up. The most damning criticism he’s gotten from a source in the NFL is that he’s too much of a company man. He started out fresh out of college as an intern, and has only rarely had a job outside the NFL’s corporate culture.

The dissension among Dean Blandino’s employees – the referees – is growing. One former official spoke on the condition of anonymity:

"I think it started out that they absolutely loved having him in there. And my understanding [now] is that the animosity is starting, because he’s having to make the tough decisions and he is a company man and he’s not siding with the officials. The officials kind of feel that, ‘Well, you’ve never been on the field.’"

That’s right, Blandino has never refereed a game in his life. He rose through the ranks of the NFL corporate office in Manhattan after interning under former VP of Officiating, Jerry Seeman.

To be known as a company man, and never to have done the job of the employee you manage, puts the boss at a huge disadvantage.

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