This is the fifth in a series of eight planned newsletters from Multi-County Football Officials Association for the 2006 season. The subject of this newsletter is to talk to you about who is who on the members of your officiating crew.

There are typically a total of 7 officials assigned to any of your games. Six of these officials serve on the field of play and the seventh works in your press box as the Electric Clock Operator (ECO).

The Referee is the crew chief of this seven-person group. He wears the white hat. In addition to his duties as the chief official, he also has specific responsibilities for coverage in his area of the field. For example, he has responsibility for action on the passer, kicker and holder that keeps his eyes on these folks long after the ball is gone. However, most people rightly focus on the Referee’s job as the chief official. His job is to set the tone and rhythm of the game. He communicates with each member of the crew on down, distance as well as status of the ball and clock prior to marking the ball ready for the next down. And he decides on most matters brought to his attention, especially the administration of penalties. On rare occasions he makes decisions about matters not explicitly covered in the rules in the spirit of good sportsmanship. Typically, the Referee will relay information to the sideline through other officials on the crew; however, it isn’t all that unusual for the Referee to visit with either or both coaches to explain truly exceptional circumstances such as the need to change the time on the game clock.

The Umpire is typically considered the Referee’s partner on the crew. His main job is to officiate from behind the linebackers and judge the close line play. Unique among the officiating crew, his technique is to work inside-out (everyone else works outside-in). The Umpire and Referee work closely together on getting the offensive team’s player counts and recognizing players who are ineligible receivers by position prior to the snap. And when it is time to administer penalties, it is the Umpire who walks off any distance. The Umpire typically remains in the center of the field. Your only likely contact with the Umpire is in the pre-game meeting when he and the Referee discuss pre-game issues and the Umpire makes any needed rulings on the legality of equipment.

The Head Linesman is one of two “wing” officials on the crew. In addition to judging ball advancement and closely watching action prior to the snap for such infractions as false starts and encroachment, he has primary responsibility for the line to gain gear and the 3- or 4-person crew who run “the chains.” As such, the Head Linesman works on the side of the field opposite the press box, where the chains are uniformly located. Usually this is the visitor’s sideline. But this depends upon which side of the field the home team decides to occupy. The HL is responsible for counting players of the team on his sideline. Because most of the game is typically played near midfield or with the offense driving into the defense’s end of the field, he is the official most often responsible for communicating with the visiting team’s coaching staff. We especially expect him to let the staff know as soon as possible who committed a penalty and what the penalty was.

The Field Judge is one of two “deep” officials on the crew. He is responsible for the goal line on his side of the field for any snaps made outside the defense’s 10 yard line. And he shares the duties of chain crew control with the Head Linesman. In fact, the Field Judge will often be responsible for placing the chains on first down (when the Head Linesman is the official who has the spot of advancement). When the offense is driving from deep in its own end of the field, he will be the official most likely to communicate with the visiting team. On punts he is one of the two officials back with the receivers; and on field goals and kick tries, he pairs up with the other deep official to make the call. He is responsible for counting the defense.

The Line Judge operates on the press box side of the field opposite the Head Linesman. With the exception of having no chains to control, the Field Judge’s responsibility is remarkably like the Head Linesman, including counting players of the team on his sideline. He is the designated member of the crew as primary communicator with the team on his side of the field, typically the home team. And his job in the pre-game period is to locate local game management and head off issues like the timing of pre-game activities (playing the National Anthem, coordinating senior night, homecoming, etc.) and any problems with the field set-up. We’re likely to ask the head coach of the home team to identify game management to us so the Line Judge can save time and perform his pre-game duties most effectively. He should be sure to introduce himself to the home staff and make sure they know that his is the role of the primary communicator during this game. We want him to be active in this role with you. Like the Head Linesman on the other side of the field, we expect him to let you know as soon as possible who committed any penalties and what these penalties were.

The Back Judge is the other “deep” official. His job is much like that of the Field Judge, but he works on the press box side of the field. He also counts the defense. Like the Field Judge he is the secondary communicator with his sideline staff when ball position makes him the official best in position to do so. In addition he is the official designated to be responsible for timing. He keeps up with how much time has been used in a charged time-out, and he is the keeper of the 25-second delay-of-game clock.