NFL officiating will rely more on technology and get better because of it, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says.
Jones was asked about the New York officiating office getting more involved in making calls based on replay angles that the on-field officials don’t see, and while he was careful not to say anything about the league’s ongoing negotiations with the officials’ union, he did make clear that he supports more use of replay and communication technology to get calls right.
“If you look at some of the technology that has evolved and some of the practical use of that technology, then you’d feel pretty good about improving the accuracy of calls using the technology we have available today,” Jones said. “So while we all know we’re looking to the future, we have to look at what’s happened in the past, but some of this technology is really impressive. Consequently, I have a lot of, for our game in general — I’m talking about officiating — but I have a lot of hope for improving the entertainment value, and, if you will, the accuracy involved when it comes to somebody making a judgment. I think we’re in for some great future days of getting better all the way around. And we all think we can do a great job of zeroing in and training and looking for nuances to help the decision making regarding the calls on the field. We all think that. Everybody’s been striving, that’s nothing new, to try to get better. But it’s our job to put the incentives into place and demands in place to get better. Fans deserve that.”
The NFL plans to rely heavily on the New York officiating office if there’s a labor stoppage requiring the use of replacement refs, but Jones’ comments suggest that the league should do that for all games, even with the regular officials. If technology can make officiating more accurate, the NFL should use that technology.
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