The NFL announced on Saturday, Nov. 14, that it has reshuffled its Week 10 officiating crews so officials can work games within driving distance of their hometowns after Friday’s nationwide Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground stop disrupted air travel across the United States. Rather than delaying any kickoffs, the league elevated three backup referees to work as head referees across four Sunday matchups, including side judge Don Willard, who will referee two games in two different cities on the same day.
In an official statement published on NFL.com, the league said: “Due to the ongoing nationwide impact to air travel this weekend, the NFL has adjusted its officiating assignments for Week 10 games, reassigning officials to games within driving distance of their hometowns.”
To cover the four games missing their assigned crew chiefs, the league promoted umpires Barry Anderson and Duane Heydt alongside side judge Don Willard. The NFL statement noted: “Each of the league’s 17 officiating crews have a backup referee identified, and that individual trains throughout the year to work at the referee position should the need arise.” While Anderson, Heydt, and Willard have all worked as head referees during the preseason, Sunday marks the regular-season debut at head referee for all three officials, according to Football Zebras editor Cameron Filipe.
Don Willard’s two-game Sunday and backup assignments
Willard, a nine-year NFL official whose regular crew under referee Scott Novak was scheduled to have Week 10 off, will take the field first at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 15, as head referee for the Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium, replacing Carl Cheffers. Once that game wraps up, Willard will drive from Indianapolis to Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati to referee the 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday Night Football matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, replacing Clete Blakeman.
NFL.com and Front Office Sports put the drive between the two stadiums at roughly 110 miles, while Men’s Journal and NBC Sports list the trip at 109 miles. Front Office Sports reported that other officiating crew members may travel with Willard to work both games, adding that it was not immediately known whether any official in NFL history had ever refereed two games on the same day. NBC Sports writer Mike Florio called Willard’s Sunday doubleheader a likely unprecedented assignment.
In Sunday’s other two games led by backup referees during the 1 p.m. ET window, Heydt replaces Shawn Smith as head referee for the Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints game at Caesars Superdome. That matchup in New Orleans will also take place without an on-site replay official in the stadium; NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported that the league’s replay center in New York will handle replay duties remotely. At Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Anderson, a 20-year NFL official who has been a designated emergency referee for more than 10 years, replaces Alex Moore as head referee for the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans game.
Where every Week 10 NFL referee is assigned
To pull off the wider regional reshuffle without changing any game times, the NFL officiating department activated a contingency plan first built during the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipe wrote for Football Zebras. Off-week referees Alex Kemp, Scott Novak, and Craig Wrolstad may also be called in as substitutes, including outside their usual on-field positions.
Across the full 14-game Week 10 slate, 10 domestic games received new head referees while four matchups kept their original assignments, according to Football Zebras:
- Thursday, Nov. 12: Washington Commanders at New York Giants (8:15 p.m. ET) kept referee Brad Rogers, with the Commanders winning 24-21.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: New England Patriots vs. Detroit Lions in Munich, Germany (9:30 a.m. ET) keeps referee Clay Martin, as both teams and the officiating crew were already in Germany before Friday’s ground stop.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (1 p.m. ET) keeps referee Ron Torbert.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Kansas City Chiefs at Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m. ET) switches from Shawn Hochuli to Alan Eck.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns (1 p.m. ET) switches from Alan Eck to Shawn Smith.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers (1 p.m. ET) switches from John Hussey to Clete Blakeman.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m. ET) switches from Carl Cheffers to backup referee Don Willard.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints (1 p.m. ET) switches from Shawn Smith to backup referee Duane Heydt.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans (1 p.m. ET) switches from Alex Moore to backup referee Barry Anderson.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals (4:05 p.m. ET) switches from Adrian Hill to Land Clark.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Seattle Seahawks at Las Vegas Raiders (4:05 p.m. ET) switches from Brad Allen to Bill Vinovich.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys (4:25 p.m. ET) switches from Bill Vinovich to John Hussey.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (8:20 p.m. ET) switches from Clete Blakeman to backup referee Don Willard.
- Monday, Nov. 16: Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore Ravens (8:15 p.m. ET) switches from Land Clark to Adrian Hill.
The officiating shakeup follows Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stop on Nov. 13, when new technology being added to the air traffic control system overloaded older components and triggered intermittent communication and radar gaps that led to more than 2,000 flight cancellations. Later on Friday, the travel backlog forced the SEC to postpone Saturday’s No. 19 Ole Miss at Oklahoma game to Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and altered kickoff times across five college football games.
Sunday’s NFL Week 10 schedule begins at 9:30 a.m. ET in Munich before the six-game 1 p.m. ET window kicks off across the United States, where Willard, Heydt, and Anderson will take charge of their reassigned crews.