By Matt Bonesteel, The Washington Post
The NFL on Wednesday tabbed Alberto Riveron to replace Dean Blandino as its new director of officiating, giving the league and its officials something of a win-win: The NFL gets continuity as it prepares to centralize its instant-replay system for next season — Riveron was Blandino’s chief lieutenant — while the referees’ union gets someone with actual game experience into the job. Unlike Blandino, Riveron was an NFL official from 2004 to 2013 before his promotion to the league office.
The league is hoping that Riveron’s time as Blandino’s top assistant will make the transition easy, though one of the chief responsibilities for the job is anything but: The NFL’s head of officiating is the person who has to take phone calls on Monday mornings from coaches who felt the whistles didn’t go their way the previous day.