The Roles of NFL Officials

Responsibilities of the Seven On-Field Officials

Referee (R)

Position: Stands behind the offensive team.

The referee is sometimes referred to as the crew chief or head referee, owing to the responsibility of general supervision of the game. He leads the officials and makes the final decision. While others wear black hats, the referee wears a white cap. 

Responsibility-wise, the referee confirms the number of offensive players, watches the quarterback during pass plays, watches the running back during running plays, watches the kicker and holder during kicking plays, and announces penalties and other game-related clarifications. 

Umpire (U)

Position: Traditionally, the umpire is required to stand on the defensive side of the ball, behind the linebackers. However, the occurrence of injuries in the NFL prompted the league to position umpires on the offensive side of the ball except during the last two minutes and the last five minutes of the first half and second half, respectively. Another exception is when the ball is inside the five-yard line.

The umpire counts the number of offensive players, watches the line of scrimmage by holding and blocking infractions, marks off penalties, watches the quarterback for passes beyond the line of scrimmage, maintains track of scoring and timeouts and reviews players’ equipment. 

Head Linesman (HL)

Position: On the opposite side of the field from the line judge. 

He watches the line of scrimmage and monitors the runner’s progress. The HL oversees offside and encroachment, makes calls on sideline plays, is in charge of the chain crew and current ball position, and monitors eligible receivers. 

Line Judge (LJ)

Position: The opposite side from the down judge/head linesman. 

The LJ is tasked with watching the line of scrimmage, making different calls such as offside, false start, and encroachment. He also counts offensive players on the field and makes calls on the near sideline plays that are to the closest half of the field. The LJ also watches for any penalties by defenders or blockers on the nearest side of the field. 

Field Judge (F)

Position: Same side of the field as line judge, 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage. 

Confirms the number of players in the defense and rules on pass interference and calls on penalties in the defensive backfield. Calls game delays and rules on completed passes. Also confirms whether the runner goes out of bounds. 

Side Judge (S)

Position: 20 yards from the line of scrimmage, in the defensive backfield and on the opposite side from the field judge. 

Performs similar tasks as the field judge and additionally acts as a backup for the official clock operator. If the clock malfunctions, the side judge stands in as the primary time keeper. He notifies the referee when time is over at the end of each quarter. 

Back Judge (B)

Position: occupies the position between the field judge and side judge, in the middle of the field. 

Majorly focuses on the tight end, thus is responsible for end of line players. Besides counting the number of players of defense, the back judge rules on interference of holding downfield in the area that intercepts the side and field judges. Rules on completed passes and confirms whether field goals are good. Also tracks the play clock, hence calls delay of game.