VP of officiating Mike Pereira isn’t ready to give up football.
While he won’t be chatting with Rich Eisen every Wednesday during the season anymore, Pereira hopes to become a coach, according to SI’s Peter King. Really.
Pereira envisions a new type of assistant. He would train the team year-round in penalty prevention.
“I believe penalties have a bigger impact on the game than anyone realizes,” Pereira said. “I’m fascinated by the coaching aspect of it, of trying to cut down the penalties. Obviously it’s never been done before, and I realize not every team would be interested in something like this. I think it’s a matter of who’s progressive enough to think about it. Who would take the chance?’'
It may not be a full-time job, but the concept has merit in this wildly specialized era. No one would know better than Pereira at how to advantage of the rules.