New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton thinks it’s time for officiating in the NFL to change.
The Saints were royally screwed in the NFC championship against the Rams on a blown no-call pass interference, and it cost them a spot in the Super Bowl. Now, the star coach wants things to change. (RELATED: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Could Intervene On The Outcome Of The Rams Vs. Saints Game)
There wasn’t a flag thrown on this play. The NFL should be embarrassed. pic.twitter.com/qL2dTyonEb
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) January 20, 2019
Payton said the following during an NFL Network appearance, according to ESPN on Monday:
Our best at playing and our best at coaching are spending 20 hours, 18 hours a day. Our best at officiating, it’s their second job. That has to change, because it’s too hard, there’s too much at stake for someone who’s a teacher at a school, who’s a florist, an attorney. That’s backward thinking, and really as we move forward into the next 10 years, for instance, of our game, where do we want officiating? With all of the technology we have available to us, our fans are closer to the game, our fans are way more in tuned and educated as to the correct calls in the game. And we just need to be better.
I’m not sure how anybody could disagree with what Payton is saying here, and if there’s anybody who has the right to be pissed, he’s the man who should be.
The Saints got absolutely smacked by the refs in an unparalleled fashion. It’s pretty rare to see officials mess up that big, and it’s even rarer to see it on that stage.
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Something absolutely needs to change. It’s not like the NFL is broke, and can’t afford to set aside a large chunk of change for full-time officials with better training.
They could do that tomorrow if they really wanted to. The NFL has no limit on the money they can spend.
I feel bad for the Saints, and I’d probably be handling it much worse if I was in their shoes.
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Props to Sean Payton for keeping it real, and not holding back. Given how badly his team was screwed, he should be speaking up at every opportunity possible.