The Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins are going to have a very odd officiating crew on the field for their Week 10 clash on Sunday in Indy.
The most unusual part of the day will be the referee — the head of the officials wearing the white cap — Don Willard. Willard will both be officiating in a different spot than usual, and then he’ll be the referee for a second NFL game just on Sunday — Sunday Night Football between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Here’s everything you need to know about Willard’s unusual day.
Who is Colts-Dolphins Ref?
The man in the white cap as the head referee for the Colts-Dolphins game is Don Willard.
Willard is usually a side judge, but the NFL had to make a bunch of changes this week.
Why is Don Willard the Colts-Dolphins Ref?
Willard is the referee for the Colts-Dolphins game because the NFL adjusted their officiating assignments due to the FAA’s nationwide ground stop on Friday.
Officials are based all over the country and often fly to their games. The stoppage of flights made that difficult to get done, and so the NFL moved guys around to be within driving distance of games.
Willard is close enough to drive to Indianapolis for Sunday afternoon, and then he’ll make the trip to Cincinnati.
How Don Willard is Reffing 2 Games in 1 Day
The drive from Indianapolis is about 110 miles.
Willard and three crew members will all make the trip.
This is how ESPN explained it in an article on Sunday:
Four NFL officials will pull a rare double shift Sunday, officiating two different games as a result of leaguewide travel issues created by Friday’s FAA ground stop.
Referee Don Willard, umpire Terry Killens, field judge Jabir Walker and side judge Justin Larrew all will work the Dolphins-Colts game at 1 p.m. ET in Indianapolis before driving 110 miles to Cincinnati for the Steelers-Bengals nightcap, which kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET.
The adjusted assignments are part of the NFL’s wider plan to reassign officials to games within driving distance of their hometowns.
Willard, who normally works as a side judge, instead will referee both games Sunday. The league announced Sunday morning that Killens, Walker and Larrew would join Willard in the unusual double assignment.
The NFL said each of the league’s 17 officiating crews have an identified backup referee, who trains throughout the year to work at the referee position should the need arise.
Airlines across the United States have worked all weekend to recover from the longest nationwide ground stop in 25 years that canceled more than 2,000 flights, spread ripple effects around the world, stranded passengers and forced professional and college sports teams to scramble for alternate transportation.
The nationwide stop, attributed to new technology being added to the nation’s air traffic control system that caused “intermittent” communications and radar gaps, was the second since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
This is pretty much unprecedented. The NFL will just be hoping there are no major talking points.
If there are issues, particularly during the nationally televised Sunday night game, there will be questions about whether the NFL did the wrong thing by having these officials work two games in the same day.
For Willard himself, it’s an incredible opportunity. If he handles himself well on Sunday, it could set him up to move up the NFL ladder.
Colts-Dolphins Ref Working 2 Games in 1 Day With Bengals-Steelers