Dean Blandino keeps refs in check
— -- IN A RARE SHOW of compassion, Bill Belichick once opined on how hard it must be to be the man in charge of the NFL's referees. It was at the funeral wake for New York Giants owner Wellington Mara in 2005. Belichick scanned the room and saw Mike Pereira, the NFL's vice president for officiating at the time. Pereira looked worn out. He recalled that as they left the service, Belichick caught up with him and said, "You look like s---."
"I'm looking at you," Belichick told Pereira, "and I'm realizing one thing. You never win, do you? You have 16 losers every week, don't you? I was just looking at you and thinking about how as a coach, losses are devastating. But victories are euphoric. And I'm looking across to you and I realize you never get that sense, do you?"
Belichick went on to tell Pereira that someday, even if the Patriots lost, he was going to call him and tell him he's doing a good job. Because Pereira never gets those calls.
Belichick never called.
THERE'S A ROBOTIC camera ready to zoom over a replay booth, and in a few days, 130 million sets of eyes might be fixed on Dean Blandino and a replay decision that could decide the outcome of Super Bowl XLIX. In an attempt to make the replay process quicker and more efficient this season, Blandino now oversees a replay command center and consults with referees during every challenge. The games have given Blandino a good share of drama, especially over the past month.
On Jan. 11 in a divisional playoff game between Dallas and Green Bay, Blandino presided over the process of reviewing Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant's controversial fourth-down catch, which was overturned because the ball hit the ground. A week earlier, he was part of the decision-making process that favored the Cowboys over the Detroit Lions.
It should be noted that in August, Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, was plastered all over TMZ as he exited a party bus owned by, you guessed it, the Dallas Cowboys.
To get Blandino's thoughts on this -- or what runs through his head in the days leading up to the Super Bowl -- is a challenge. The NFL denied an interview request for this story, which seems sort of odd. In a season in which commissioner Roger Goodell has largely gone underground, Blandino has been one of the most visible faces of the league office. He's on TV constantly, explaining a rule, diffusing a controversy or backing up one of his refs.
In fact, Blandino's media savvy is one of the things that landed him this job two years ago. He is 42 years old and straight out of central casting -- young, handsome and Italian.
"There was a very strong feeling," says former Colts president Bill Polian, now an ESPN analyst, "that it was necessary for someone with really good communication skills to be out there every week refuting a lot of the conspiracy theories and a lot of the incorrect application of the rules that go on on a regular basis now in today's society."
So that's Blandino's job, along with a number of other stressful duties that encompass 80-hour work weeks during football season. He seems so different than many of his colleagues who toil away at 345 Park Avenue in Manhattan. He is one of the most influential men in the No Fun League, yet Blandino has a diverse background that includes being a stand-up comedian. He is in charge of 17 officiating crews, yet he's never reffed a game in his life.
His peers, the ones who work with him closely, are convinced of one thing: There is no one more qualified for this job.
BECAUSE OF THE unique nature of the business, NFL officiating is sort of a fraternity. It's a brotherhood of men who are ordinary during the week -- working as lawyers and accountants -- but whose split-second Sunday decisions are scrutinized by millions.
When the vice president job opened up two years ago, many longtime officials were interested, according to a person close to the situation. It was natural that some would question Blandino's credentials.
He played football in high school, a tight end for Wellington C. Mepham High in Bellmore, New York, then studied communications at Hofstra University. Upon graduation, Blandino sent out letters in the hopes of interning with either Major League Baseball or the NFL. The NFL called and Blandino interviewed with longtime officiating czar Jerry Seeman, who hired him as an intern in the officiating department. He was the definition of grunt, sweeping floors and carrying Seeman's bags around at the airport.
"He never complained," says former NFL ref Bill Carollo, who's now in charge of Big Ten officials. "He sat there and learned and watched."
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