Assignments
Divisional assignments: Leavy, McAulay, Steratore, Vinovich
Football Zebras has confirmed the referees that will be heading the Divisional Playoff crews next weekend. As reported earlier, the Super Bowl officials are mixed in with the Divisional Playoff crews. (McAulay is ineligible due to last year’s assignment.)
Football Zebras has confirmed the officiating crews for the Wild Card weekend. Officials are listed with their uniform number, years experience (including this season), the crew each official worked with in the regular season (by the referee’s name), college, and outside occupation. As reported earlier, the Super Bowl officials are mixed in with the Divisional Playoff crews. (McAulay is ineligible due to last year’s assignment.)
Three alternates are assigned to each game: generally, one is designated for the offensive backfield (a referee or umpire), one is on the line of scrimmage (head linesman or line judge), and one is a deep position (side judge, field judge, or back judge).
All times are Eastern.
The prior playoff experience listed for the crew chief includes his service as an NFL official, including as referee and any other crew position (excluding alternate assignments).
Saturday, Jan. 10
Ravens at Patriots, 4:35 p.m. (NBC)
Bill Vinovich is the referee, who is in his 9th year and 6th as referee. This is his 6th postseason assignment (2 Wild Card Playoffs, 3 Divisional Playoffs, and 1 Conference Championship).
| Yrs | 2014 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 52 | Bill Vinovich | 10 | San Diego | accountant, former NFL officiating supervisor | |
| U | 49 | Rich Hall | 11 | Hochuli | Arizona | custom cabinetry |
| HL | 106 | Wayne Mackie | 8 | Steratore | Colgate | director of operations, housing |
| LJ | 108 | Gary Arthur | 18 | Steratore | Wright State | president, commercial printing company |
| FJ | 118 | David Meslow | 4 | Blakeman | Augsburg College | marketing manager |
| SJ | 21 | Jeff Lamberth | 13 | Wrolstad | Texas A&M | attorney |
| BJ | 112 | Tony Steratore | 15 | Boger | California (Pa.) | co-owner, supply company |
- Replay official: Mike Wimmer
- Replay assistant: Terry Poulos
- Alternates: R Ronald Torbert, HL John McGrath and SJ Scott Edwards
- Supervisors: Johnny Grier, Al Riveron
Panthers at Seahawks, 8:15 p.m. (Fox)
Terry McAulay is the referee, who is in his 17th year and 14th as referee. This is McAulay’s 15th postseason assignment (2 Wild Card Playoffs, 3 Divisional Playoffs, 7 Conference Championships, and Super Bowls XXXIX, XLIII, and last year’s XLVIII. His Super Bowl assignments were all as a referee. In a scheduling quirk, this is the third assignment of McAulay to the Seahawks in their last four playoff games
| Yrs | 2014 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 77 | Terry McAulay | 17 | Louisiana State | college officiating coordinator | |
| U | 96 | Undrey Wash | 15 | Cheffers | Texas-Arlington | claims controller |
| HL | 74 | Derick Bowers | 12 | Parry | East Central | sales representative |
| LJ | 9 | Mark Perlman | 14 | Leavy | Salem | teacher |
| FJ | 25 | Bob Waggoner | 18 | Steratore | Juniata College | retired probation officer |
| SJ | 73 | Joe Larrew | 13 | Parry | St Louis | attorney |
| BJ | 111 | Terrence Miles | 7 | Anderson | Arizona State | quality control manager |
- Replay official: Earnie Frantz
- Replay assistant: Brian Matoren
- Alternates: R Craig Wrolstad, LJ Byron Boston, SJ Mike Weatherford
- Supervisor: Garth DeFelice
Sunday, Jan. 11
Cowboys at Packers, 1 p.m. (Fox)
Gene Steratore is the referee, who is in his 12th year and 9th as referee. This is his 8th postseason assignment, including 2 Wild Card Playoffs, 4 Divisional Playoffs, and 2 Conference Championships.
| Yrs | 2014 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 114 | Gene Steratore | 12 | Kent State | co-owner, supply company | |
| U | 129 | Bill Schuster | 15 | Coleman | Alfred | insurance broker |
| HL | 8 | Dana McKenzie | 7 | Morelli | Toledo | claims adjuster |
| LJ | 59 | Rusty Baynes | 5 | Vinovich | Auburn-Montgomery | general manager, safety services |
| FJ | 43 | Terry Brown | 9 | Boger | Tennessee | probation supervisor |
| SJ | 97 | Tom Hill | 16 | Allen | Carson Newman | teacher |
| BJ | 30 | Todd Prukop | 6 | Cheffers | Cal State-Fullerton | medical sales representative |
- Replay official: Bill Spyksma
- Replay assistant: Terry Sullivan
- Alternates: R Jeff Triplette, HL Jim Howey, FJ Dyrol Prioleau
- Supervisor: Gary Slaughter
Colts at Broncos, 4:40 p.m. (CBS)
Bill Leavy is the referee. This is his 20th year and 14th as referee. This is Leavy’s 16th postseason assignment, including 4 Wild Card Playoffs, 9 Divisional Playoffs, 1 Conference Championship, and Super Bowls XXXIV and XL. The first Super Bowl was as a back judge, the second was as a referee.
| Yrs | 2014 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 127 | Bill Leavy | 20 | San Jose State | retired firefighter | |
| U | 71 | Ruben Fowler | 9 | Blakeman | Huston-Tillotson | retired firefighter |
| HL | 48 | Jim Mello | 11 | Allen | Northeastern | facilities manager |
| LJ | 10 | Julian Mapp | 6 | Parry | Grambling State | software QA tester |
| FJ | 33 | Steve Zimmer | 18 | Wrolstad | Hofstra | attorney |
| SJ | 95 | James Coleman | 10 | McAulay | Arkansas | electrical engineer |
| BJ | 133 | Steve Freeman | 14 | Triplette | Mississippi State | custom home builder |
- Replay official: Larry Nemmers
- Replay assistant: Bill Tracy
- Alternates: R Walt Coleman, LJ Tom Stephan, SJ Michael Banks
- Supervisor: Neely Dunn
