NFL officiating czar Mike Pereira confirmed on Wednesday that the league intends to improve the protection of officials in the offseason after a wave of incidents in which officials have been hurt from collisions with players. "I don't know what we're going to do but we have to address the issue," Pereira said in his weekly appearance on the NFL Network. "The fact is they're getting run over too many times." On Sunday, Minnesota's Jeff Dugan ran over back judge Richard Reels and sent the official careening into the turf at Heinz Field, who will be out for a week with chest contusions. The incident came on the same day ESPN reported that the league's competition committee will consider outfitting umpires, who stand among linebackers behind the line of scrimmage, with helmets next season. "I think it's time that we take a look at getting them set up with some more protection, especially the umpires," Pereira said. "The game has gotten faster, the players have gotten bigger. Whether it's helmets, whether it's shoulder pads, whether it's moving (umpires) him to an alternate position to get (them) out of the way, I think we have to look at it because we're getting too many people hurt." Source: USA Today
they definitely need some sort of head protection. whatever type of helmet they use though will limit their vision somewhat so there may be a few more missed calls. just be prepared for that.
meanwhile the nfl continues to deny that there are any lingering issues from concussions to players later in life thus denying them medical coverage. heck you goodell.
