Tony Corrente resigns as Pac-12 officiating coordinator

NFL referee Tony Corrente has resigned from his position as the coordinator of football officiating for the Pacific 12 Conference on Thursday. Conference commissioner Larry Scott named Jim Blackwood as the interim coordinator. Blackwood was the supervisor of replay.

A statement from the Pac-12 indicated the resignation was due to “personal and professional reasons.” Weekday afternoon host Dave “Softy” Mahler of Sportsradio 950/Seattle is reporting that there were “severe disagreements … over multiple issues” between Corrente and the conference. Mahler quotes one anonymous source that Corrente “was fed up with the conference blaming the officials for Oregon, UCLA, and Stanford losses.”

In a statement, Scott praised Corrente, saying, “under Tony’s leadership, our program made great strides in improving the quality, accountability and consistency. While it’s unfortunate that Tony has decided to leave us at this time, I want to express my appreciation for his contribution, and for leaving our officiating program strong and headed in the right direction.”

Corrente retired from teaching in 2011 to take the Pac-12 post. Previously, former NFL vice-president of officiating Mike Pereira held the position on an interim basis and was instrumental in reforming the conference’s football officiating department. Pereira originally hired Corrente to supervise the referee (crew chief) position in the conference.

Corrente continues in his 20th season in the NFL and will officiate Sunday’s Chargers-Raiders game.