NFL in no rush to find replacement for Pereira

You don't hear a whole lot these days about NFL officials, and that's the way the league likes it. As people who work at 280 Park Avenue like to say, the focus should be on the players and the games.

VP of officiating Mike Pereira will retire at the end of April, 2010. (US Presswire)

Officiating in the NFL has not been a hot topic this fall, and that's good if you're talking about what's happening on the field. But there hasn't been much going on off it, either, with the league still looking for a successor to its vice president of officiating, Mike Pereira, who retires at the end of April, 2010.

That it hasn't by now is mildly troubling. The league once hoped to have settled on someone by now to help with the transition. But it tried. According to insiders, five candidates were interviewed earlier this year -- with the list reduced to three finalists.

One of those was supposed to emerge as Pereira's successor, but there was no consensus on a replacement, and the league decided to expand its search into the fall. Interviews, or what NFL officials like to call "the first round" of the process, are expected to take place soon -- and could, some say, begin as early as next week.

There is no word on how many persons will be involved, but one source close to the situation said that between 15 and 20 candidates is possible. Candidates would include officials currently working the game as well as some who are out of it, with the league wanting a successor to Pereira in place no later than the NFL scouting combine in late February and, possibly, by Super Bowl XLIV, which takes place Feb. 7.

If it looks as if the NFL is no hurry, that's because it isn't. It wants to make sure it gets this hire right, and good thing. Under Pereira, the position has grown in importance and visibility, with the league's officiating chief more accessible than in the past. Pereira does weekly TV segments on the NFL Network, holds media seminars during the season via the Internet and leads a media Q&A session on rules changes at the annual owners' meeting in March.

So, as one insider said, it's not just a knowledge of the rules that is critical to the position; it's an ability to communicate that knowledge. The gregarious Pereira has it, but he will be gone within seven months -- deciding some time ago to leave next year and return to his home in California.

When word of Pereira's retirement first broke last January it appeared as if he was being squeezed out, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Pereira has been one of the league's most valued employees, and losing him is a blow. The NFL wants to find the best candidate to replace him and will try to stay patient while it continues its search.

Stay tuned.