The NFL has "posted a new executive-level position to oversee its replay program and potentially change who makes final decisions on game review, a significant shift" amid the pending departure of Senior VP/Officiating Dean Blandino, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. The newly created role of VP/Replay & Administration "will be responsible for, among other things, ensuring 'accuracy and consistency in all areas concerning in-game reviews and communication with (the) on-field officiating crew.'" As it stands, reviews will be "decided by whomever mans" the league's N.Y. command center. That person "initially was expected to be Blandino's replacement." Instead, the replay exec would "report to the senior vice president of officiating -- Blandino's current title, and a job that remains posted, as well." Blandino's looming workload created "concern for some in the officiating department as the process of replacing him began, and the new structure would in essence split his duties" (ESPN.com, 4/26). NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Blandino did a "great job as supervisor of our officials, but we have a great staff there and we're going to build on it." Goodell: "We talked about adding full-time officials that we'll also be able to rotate into the building on Sundays." He added the "one person is the leader of the department, but it will be more than one person that's going to have to be involved in the replay decisions. When you're on Sunday afternoons and you have seven or eight games going on, you could have multiple replays at one time. So, it has to have multiple people that are able to put the focus on that" ("SportsCenter Special," ESPN, 4/27).
