When word of NFL senior V.P. of officiating Dean Blandino’s resignation emerged, initial reports of a gig at CBS quickly shifted to a report that FOX will hire Blandino, pairing him with Mike Pereira. Via John Ourand of SportsBusiness Daily, FOX will make it official this week.
As PFT reported at the time, FOX will keep one of the two in the studio, sending the other to a game site. Regardless of how the pay compares, it will be a much less stressful gig for Blandino. As his new partner well knows.
“It’s the second-hardest job in the league,” Pereira recently told Jarrett Bell of USA Today. “I’ll give Roger [Goodell] the toughest job. As Commissioner, he deals with everything, plus 32 owners. But it’s hard. There’s so much volatility. You don’t make friends in that post. You make enemies.”
Stepping into the gig once held by Blandino and Pereira will be Alberto Riveron, who will have more help given the three-pronged assignment of duties falling under Riveron’s umbrella.
“A lot of people in the league will miss Dean,” Periera said. “It makes it very hard for Al. He’s got size 16’s he’s got to fill.”
The viewers won’t miss Dean. They’ll actually see and hear more of him. Which serves only to add more pressure to Riveron and his colleagues, since if they get something wrong Blandino will be able to say so -- and at a minimum the fans of the team that came out on the wrong side of the decision will wholeheartedly agree.