Rodney Harrison, NFL official?

[FrogMan]

from the Boston Herald online:
http://patriots.bostonherald.com/pat...rticleid=72319

It's official
Safety Rodney Harrison [news] is taking the first step to fulfilling his post-playing career ambition to become an NFL official by participating in an NFL Europe minicamp in Tampa this week. Harrison, along with former Patriots Fred McCrary [news] and Grey Ruegamer, is spending 4-5 hours in the classroom and then heading out to the field to officiate scrimmages.
``You get graded,'' he said. ``If you're not making the calls your grade just gets worse and worse and you get kicked out. First and foremost, I'm going to be a professional.''
Harrison said he threw two pass interference flags yesterday, which drew a natural reaction from some of the NFL players on the field.
``They said, `Hey, Rodney, that's how you play!' '' Harrison said. . . .

I think it's pretty cool to see players be interested in officiating in the league. We don't see many do that...

FM

[KevinNU7]

It's pretty interesting. I'm sure plenty of Harrison haters will be in here posting about his fines

[tategter]

This is cool. Who can better call fouls than someone who already knows all of the dirty tricks?

[Kodos]

It's always nice to have the dirtiest player in the game officiating.

[Raiders Army]

Somehow, need to work this into FOF...we already have players becoming coaches...

[Desnudo]

Hopefully he'll make A.J. Fairy mincemeat a few more times before switching over.

[hhiipp]

I am thinking this isn't such a good idea for a former player to jump into the realm of officiating. Reason being is that he knows a lot of the players and there would be the chance that he wouldn't be able to officiate impartially such as against teams he hated playing against.

If they kept him out of the NFL for 10-15 years then I could see it as a possibility, you know to let the ties wear thin over time so when he was back to officiating almost all players he knew would be out of the league.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by hhiipp

I am thinking this isn't such a good idea for a former player to jump into the realm of officiating. Reason being is that he knows a lot of the players and there would be the chance that he wouldn't be able to officiate impartially such as against teams he hated playing against.

If they kept him out of the NFL for 10-15 years then I could see it as a possibility, you know to let the ties wear thin over time so when he was back to officiating almost all players he knew would be out of the league.

That's where the grading system comes in.

[kcchief19]

Talking about the inmates running the asylum. I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea for former players to become officials, although I do think it sets up extraordinary conflicts of interest.

But let's start with someone who demonstrated an understanding for the rules and a respect for the officials and other players. Harrison was a very talented head hunter always looking for the cheap shot.

[McSweeny]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Talking about the inmates running the asylum. I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea for former players to become officials, although I do think it sets up extraordinary conflicts of interest.

But let's start with someone who demonstrated an understanding for the rules and a respect for the officials and other players. Harrison was a very talented head hunter always looking for the cheap shot.

does that really matter when it comes to calling a game fairly? If he doesn't make the correct calls he simply won't be hired as an official. If he does make the correct calls, why not let him be an official? It's not like he'd be going out there without any instruction or training. Or without having to pass some sort of exam. They don't let just anyone be an official

[Draft Dodger]

seems kind of a strange choice to me - I don't imagine officials make a ton of dough...do they even reach 6 figures?

[Glengoyne]

IF they still allow Phil Luckett to be an official, there is no reason that Rodney Harrison couldn't be one.

Did I miss Harrison's retirement? I see all this former player stuff, and he was a headhunter statements.

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

But let's start with someone who demonstrated an understanding for the rules and a respect for the officials and other players. Harrison was a very talented head hunter always looking for the cheap shot.

Who better to enforce the rules than someone who knows how to break them? Paul Stewart was one of the better NHL referees in recent years until health problems forced him to retire, but he didn't do much other than fight during his playing career.

[lcjjdnh]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

seems kind of a strange choice to me - I don't imagine officials make a ton of dough...do they even reach 6 figures?

Actually I think NFL officials get paid pretty well considering it's really a part-time job. I thought for the top guys it was a little over $10,000 a game, but that's really from pure memory. But a lot of the referees are lawyers, doctors, dentists, etc. so it really is a nice way to pick up extra cash. I'm really a second job for most of them, since it only consumes football season, they do no football related work outside that.

[mhass]

Officials make VERY good money. The long-term vets make well into the six figures. Plus they get "day jobs" for the offseason. One I know (Ed Hoculey sp? maybe) is a lawyer or accountant.

[MacroGuru]

The National Football League (NFL) pays referees anywhere from $25,000 to $70,000 per season. When you consider that the league plays 16 games and referees are considered part-time employees, you get a better sense of the disparity. But do not feel so bad for them, not only are there only 16 games in the schedule, they also get one-week intervals.

Quoted from http://www.askmen.com/sports/busines..._business.html

Oh, and more can be found here

http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/clayt...n/1248319.html

This is during the 2001 labor dispute

Terms of the league's new proposal include an 85 percent increase by the 2002 season and a 100 percent increase in 2003. The final year of the five-year deal would feature a 120 percent increase over current salaries.

The current pay scale has first-year officials making $24,825, fifth-year officials making $30,465, 10-year officials making $40,479, 15-year officials making $53,565 and 20-year officials making $69,990.

Pension benefits will increase from 33 percent to 50 percent.

[stevew]

Actually it would be over 50K/year to start now if they were making 24K then and got a 120% increase.

[Draft Dodger]

so, my initial thought remains - financially, it seems kind of and odd choice for Harrison.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

so, my initial thought remains - financially, it seems kind of and odd choice for Harrison.

He's doing what he has to do to pay rent and eat. Remember, he's one of the idiots who don't care about making top dollar in the league. He plays for a team that selfishly puts winning above money, therefore the money he makes now will barely sustain him and his family in the future. Also, his 1976 Buick Century sucks down gas and is in need of constant repair. If only he would stop caring so damn much about winning andhold out complaining about money untikl he is cut he could sign a big contract to play elsewhere and buy a new car...

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

so, my initial thought remains - financially, it seems kind of and odd choice for Harrison.

What else is he trained to do outside of football? His playing days can't last forever (has he retired?) so once he's done playing, if he has no previous schooling or training in another field, this would be a pretty sweet gig for the money involved without having to go back to school for 3-5 years.