The NFL announced Wednesday that Alberto Riveron will take over as the leagues senior vice president of officiating. The job was previously held by Dean Blandino (pictured), who stepped down last month to pursue other opportunities.
In addition to hiring Riveron, Russell Yurk was named vice president of instant replay. In that role, he will direct the leagues instant replay operations in the Art McNally GameDay Central room and oversee all instant replay-related personnel.
Riveron has 40 years of officiating experience, beginning in 1977 as an official in local youth leagues. He then transitioned to the collegiate level in 1990 before joining the NFL in 2003. In 2008, he became the NFLs first Hispanic referee.
Al has done a terrific job as a key member of our officiating staff for the past four seasons, Roger Goodell said in a statement. Prior to that, Al was an outstanding on-field official who earned the respect of his fellow officials, as well as coaches and players alike. To have Al leading our officiating department, and then to add talented, knowledgeable instant replay and officiating experts like Russell and Wayne, is a tremendous positive for us as we look forward to the 2017 season.
Yurk has 10 years of experience as an official at the high school and collegiate level and has spent the last seven years in the NFLs replay department. The team of Riveron, Yurk and Wayne Mackie will have the final say on all replay decisions, along with the consultation of referees.
The NFL is moving to a more centralized replay procedure this season, which should hopefully speed up the process.
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