Mark Pellis is 13th offseason hire by NFL

The league announced that Mark Pellis has been hired to fill the vacancy left by the surprise retirement of Mike Carey, who left the field to become an officiating analyst for CBS Sports. He is the 13th college official hired by the NFL this offseason.

Pellis comes to the NFL from the American Athletic Conference — formerly known as the Big East — where he worked as an umpire.  He worked the 2013 Rose Bowl along with several other high profile games involving Notre Dame.

Pellis will wear uniform number 131 — the first time that number has been issued — and he will be assigned to the umpire position.  Brad Allen was going to be an umpire for 2014, presumably for a new umpire-to-referee advancement regimen, but Allen was moved to referee once Carey retired.

Pellis was slated to work his second season in the developmental training program this year before being called up. Chris Snead, an umpire from the Southeastern Conference, will take Pellis’s place in the developmental program.

Barring any other surprises, this should be the final roster moves for the 2014 season.

The NFL will release a list of crews in the near future.

Photo: Linkedin