Former NFL cornerback turned NFL official Nate Jones joins Peanut and Roman for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at life on both sides of the whistle. He dives into the mental and physical demands of officiating, the reality of “makeup calls,” and what it’s like dealing with overzealous parents at youth games. Nate reflects on what it was like being coached by both Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells, and the sting of the infamous Tony Romo botched field goal game. He also opens up about retiring on his own terms, finding a new passion in officiating, and the feeling of being “drafted” to the NFL as a ref. From the evolution of technology in football to his personal Mount Rushmore of influences, Nate brings insight, humor, and heart to this one-of-a-kind conversation.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you like practice like today? Everybody?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Yeah, but like in the mirror, you ever like you
practice like you gotta like you practice first down and
practice the field goes correct.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
And more than that, you gotta know your mechanics, how
you look right. Sometimes you'll see if it's when we
get excited and we start missing it, that's that's a
fumble for us, right, like that look crazy, but you
know you want to be spooned with it when you
get it. Because you do this, it makes you look nervous.
(00:34):
What's up, everybody? I'm peanut to him and and this
is the NFL Player Second Acts podcast with me as
always as my trusty co host Roman.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, you like it? Just yeah, appreciate that. I'm really
looking at that. I don't even know what that is. Yeah,
you shouldn't. It's a TJ Max purchase. It was great
Number one. I can't wait to have our next guest on.
Super cool guy, very accomplished, and he he's the first
yeah for us first first right now it is I
(01:04):
don't want to give away what he does, but he
is a before you talk about his whole resume, he
is currently a referee in the NFL. So you first
my intro up. I had a whole thing that I
was doing and you mess it up. He came into
the league twice, once as a player and secondly as
an officially played eight years in the league. Latest gym
w and walk up to the pod missing Nate.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Joe, thank you, thank you fellas. You might be the
only one to ever do that, coming to the league twice. Yeah,
it's right now on the staff. It's two others Terry
Kilns and Mike Morton. Oh yeah, so it's three of
us total right now on the staff that have played
and now also officiating. So it's one hundred and twenty
(01:44):
of us all together on the field, but only only
three players.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
And no, you know, I know that you don't have
to go into detail, but I know everybody was mad
at the one that was with the they used to
play for the Rams. I don't even know his name,
that that refereed the Saints game and the ENFGY champions.
It was all the conspiracies out there. I'm not saying
though any of those things are true. That's what happens
with your former player. You get the spotlight on you
(02:08):
a little bit. Oh yeah, you know what I mean.
So that's just part of it. So tell me, like,
what is that, because I think it's a totally different process.
When you know, they always say like former players. Sometimes
NFL coaches or coaches in college give former players a
harder time before they actually get in. They want them
(02:28):
to have to go through the grunt work, the grind work,
and they don't want you just to say, oh, I played,
so I should deserve to get here. Is it how
close or similar to that situation is that in the
refereeing game?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Very? I mean when I got in, we started with
twenty or thirty guys former players. Only three of us
really matriculated into the actual program. Because so many of
us former players, we think, well, we thought that when
you get off the field, we're gonna go work LSU
Alabama next year. Right, you can't do it, Yes, you
got to go back to pee weee middle school, high school,
(03:00):
small college, big college. You have to keep working up
the ladder. Right, And so how long did that take
for me? It took about six years. Okay, that's super fast. Yeah.
You know a lot of guys have started when they
were eighteen nineteen. They don't get into their like forty
you know, oh, Wow. Yeah, So it's it was a
it was a very fast track program. So it was
(03:22):
it was learning to go a swim. But it is
a process. Yeah, you got to take your lumps along
the way because as players, we know the game one way, right,
and so we're trying to get to that age. Now.
I got to back guys away from that age, you
know what I mean. And so I got all the rules. Now,
we just knew legal contact deep, we knew it to
(03:43):
pertain to us right now. I got to know everything.
So it's it's it's way more up here. You know,
taxing after a game. Yeah, what's your favorite team to
throw the most flags on? I don't have a favorite,
but there are awesome teams that do get more flags,
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
So you know, we had Troy Vincent on here and
he broke down a couple of the statistically things that
I thought was crazy interesting. And Peanut was a big
on this cause Peanut likes to challenge Troy all the time.
Anytime we get Troy, Peanuts load locked and loaded.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I don't have to talk a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And so the recognition rate, that's what you guys are
graded on, because I don't think everybody understands how much
referees are judged like they are graded.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
They guys break down film.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
You guys are judged and graded on your recognition, right,
and then the throw rate. These are the two things.
So do I recognize it is that one hundred percent?
And then do I throw the penalty?
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Right?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
And so how do you determine, like, are you a
guy that's always trying to be the one that throws?
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Or do you like oh?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Or do you or is it like football where the
moment you hesitate is the moment you're done.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
It's a art to this, Okay, Yeah, I was wondering
about that. There's an art to it. It's like there's
a science and in an art, right. Yeah, there's the
rules by the letter of the law, and then there
is an art to how you officiate the game, because
really we are game managers. Yeah, you don't want to
be the you're not trying to be the start. We're
not trying to be the stars. We don't want the show.
We don't want the cameras on us. Our job is
(05:15):
to manage the game within the rules, within the mechanics,
to make sure everybody sure there's a fair and unbiased game.
And everybody is, you know, held to the same rules
and the same standards. So there is an art to this,
and we have philosophies on how we throw, what it means, what,
how much of a grab is a foul, how much
(05:36):
of this is a foul, and that that is kind
of always moving, you know, just you're in year out
speed of the game, whatever we're concentrating on, you know,
and so you have to be able to adjust. And so, yes,
you see a pull, but if a guy runs through it,
we let it go, right, you know, if it doesn't
have a material effect on the play, you let some
(05:58):
things go. You write it up. Hey, I saw that,
but I passed because X Y Z right. And so
the official that's able to really recognize and make that
snap decision on how much effect it had on a
play on it whatever. Those are the guys that kind
of rise to the top. So you can't just throw
in every little grab pull because you're still in the
(06:19):
game down all day every day.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Was there ever, was there ever a moment where you
was just like, I missed it. I need to do
a replay. I know, I got to do something. I
got these coaches yelling at me, Hey, did you see it? Well,
you many conferences, so you start, I mean you started JV,
so so you know what's ref.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Of a JV game like besides trying to keep helmet songs,
trying to get them lined up, right, you're lining them
up too, so you learn them manage the game. You
can't throw a lot of flags in JV game, right, right,
It's got to get the super big stuff. But that
also applies in the game. You want to you want
to make sure you still get material files. And so
(07:00):
your question, it happens. Yeah, no, you know when you
kick something, yeah, right, just you could. It's at our level,
the NFL level, it's so fast, literally you can blink. Yeah,
it's very true. And unfortunately now there's sixty cameras and
so everybody's gonna know, you know, and so it happens.
You know, we all go through that. But hopefully our
(07:22):
mechanics and our other crewmates and all the fail states
we have in place help us. Not that doesn't happen
a lot. All right.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I want to actually talk about your NFL career, because
I mean your your your football career.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
You want you want to say, go ahead, keep talking
about it.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I just want to do like make up calls, though,
Is there is there ever a point to where I
don't want to say you you make up the call?
But is there ever a point to where you just
like I think I should, like, I know I miss one.
I'm gonna just get it back on this next one
if I see it?
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Is there ever, like not if you want to keep
your job?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
OK, I was gonna say too, I'm with you, you got it,
you got I'm with you on this one, Nate, you
gotta you gotta.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I mean if because we say that as like, oh
that's a makeup call, I think I think NBA, if
you definitely know you miss when you kick for sure
and you know it, sometimes you don't know it. I
really think, hey, I nail that right, But if you
know you missed one, A kick one? No you can't, can't.
You gotta you gotta let it burn, yeah, and they
ain't move on and keep it still as fair as possible.
(08:22):
You can't let the crowd the booing, boom and the booming.
Now you're like, I gotta get him off my back. No,
you don't do that. I love it, I love it.
Don't do that. So I got one more question and
you can don't.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Don't say a name, don't say a team. Okay, has
there ever been a time where a coach or player
has said something so crazy and you was just like, Yeah,
I'm gonna lose my job because you ain't gonna talk
to me that way.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
I'm finna, I'm Nate Jonesman, you ain't gonna do this
to me.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I'm a man first, this is a job. I'm a man.
I'm a grown man at that.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
This is your dad's favorite statement too, I'm a man first.
I'm a man first. Forget did this job? He ain't
gonna talk to me a respect me in my short
six seven year career. I don't think it's happened in
the NFL. No high school college. You got to worry
about that more at the pee wee and high school level,
especially in Texas.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, parents popping offping off. This worst there is there
is there like a story.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
This worst there. I mean, you know, you know these
play Texas, Florida, California, some of these places where sports
are very very important at a young age. I mean
you walking together back to the car, Okay, you know
what I mean? Yeah, it gets like that sometimes and
you know I can't say anything was ever drawn, nothing
like that. I don't have anything that crazy, but you
(09:40):
definitely are planning your exit in certain neighborhood deserted areas,
say less. This is exactly why.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
At an AAU basketball game two weeks ago in Charlotte,
North Carolina, a referee had a gun in his bag
and it went off in the in the arena.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Wow, wait what? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
I don't he just I don't even know why, but
I guess he felt unsafe. I don't know nobody was hurt.
I mean he was wrestling around in his bag and
it went off. That's how he got caught. Anyways. But
this is where we're at right now. This is where
we're at right now. You probably got horror stories as well.
We'll come back to reference, but we're just too excited,
so we're gonna we aint never had one.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Yes, what happens? How do you feel about this?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
He's kind of like having a politician in here, right,
is exactly what so many questions. We just have questions,
But we want to talk about your balling career as well.
Take me back to one of your bigger plays in
college when you're at the ruck. You know, yeah, one
hundred yard kickoff return to open the game up versus
Tennessee's I watched the play. I mean you wrote out,
(10:44):
I mean you kind of made one move and then
you just one hundred and three thousand in attendance. Well,
it's probably bigger than that. Actually, I think that's just
the raw number, but Tennessee has more than twenty five.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I'm just saying for that, like, why you don't do that?
I just I just know it's a bigger stadium then,
So that was that was I was a little unknown
before that, you know, and so everybody has you know,
we probably have a moment in our career. Were like
I'm ready and we were coming from Rutgers, which we've
struggled our first two years there, right, Shana had just
came there, and we're going to Tennessee. They're looking at
(11:18):
us like where are these guys from you know, were
walking through the stadium. They're just like about to blow
us out the water, and uh yeah, it was it
was just us verse down and uh first play the game,
take it back whole stadium? Quiet, quiet, quiet, That was
my moment. Yeah, you had them great gloves looking at
the crowd like what's up. That was my moment. That's
(11:39):
my moment. I still try to find some film on that.
It's greeny, but definitely great. It was. That was my moment,
and that kind of helped me start to kind of
get a little little shine.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah you were you did a lot of good punt
kick return to college, Yeah, that was like a big
mainstay for you.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
If that was If that was your college moment, what
was your walk to the NFL moment? Welcome to the
NFL would have to be rookie training camp versus Larry
Allen trying to blitz up the line. Yeah, he just
stuck that arm out and I just was like, Okay,
it's a different level of human beings up here, you know.
(12:18):
Welcome to the NFL. Right, Yeah. So yeah, I got
a chance to play some really good players. Larry Allen
was one of them. Rest in peace, by the way.
Yeah I did pass away, but no, I mean that
started my career and I ended my career you know
at Super Bowl Tom Brady, Right, So we lost that one,
but it was still it was a great journey. I
have no regrets, have some good plays in between there,
(12:40):
but but it was it was a good run. Yeah,
and I left it all out. So you played with
the two big fishes, the Bill pars both Bills and
Bill Belichick. Yeah, what was that like? Who explain their
coaching styles? Bill versus Bill. They're gonna get in your head,
you know. You know, if you have a bad game
(13:00):
with Parcels, right, the dvs say, Parcels, Parcels, you have
a bad game, right, Yeah, big tune us that next week.
You know, you're coming out to practice and he'll be
working out like six d vs right there, right, just
so you can see, you know what I mean. They
were just they expected a lot from you, and they
would have prototypical coaches that pulled every ounce that you
didn't think you had out of you, right, and they
(13:22):
didn't take a lot of you know, the bs, and
so you just you had to show up and perform
or stay out of trouble. Yeah, and so they were
they're hard coaches, but they both Hall of famers. Blessed
to play with, both of them, are still keep in
contact with, you know, Parcels and so very very fortunate
because they definitely helped steer my career.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
You know, it's funny because Bill Parcells was never my coach,
but I did have Sean Payton, who's a descendant of
He was around in Dallas and stuff as well. And
it's hilarious because I missed the tackling the game, and
then like that next Tuesday Wednesday, we're like outstretch line
and Sean comes up to me like, hey, Parcels told
(14:03):
because he would just get message from Parcels because Parcels
watched all the games and so Parcels would pass it down.
He's like, I tell this player, I told this. And
he's like, Parceales told me to tell you. A safety
that misses tackles, it's a safety that doesn't have a job.
And then he just walks off and he's like, these
would do this is the type of stuff. So did
(14:24):
they get in your head?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Of course it did. Yeah, it's just like early in
your career, Lad, in your career. Definitely, it was early.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
It was like your two oh yeah, so yeah and
uh but the next game I did make that tackle
though in open field, and it's just like a challenge. Yeah,
they're going to challenge you, and if it's your day,
it'd be somebody else's day. In the stretch line, like
they're just going to say something to kind of just
be in your head a little bit. So, Uh, these
things have definitely passed down. Uh, it's been interesting to
(14:52):
see and I hope Bill Bill Parcells is doing well.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Haven't heard from him, Rasinem in a while.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
You were there in that two thousand and six with
the Cowboys, that the famous Romo Box Snap game. You
guys are going to win it hard fall game. This
was like a thing that Romo couldn't win a game
in the playoffs and this was just one chance to
get it done. What were your emotions, How did that
whole thing kind of unravel? What was the feelings like
(15:22):
in the locker room after that game when you like,
I think we were supposed to win that game up
in Seattle.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yes, yeah, definitely remember that game. I was a long
flight home. You just don't even know what happens, right,
because you get so close that you just you just ready,
You're like, this is we're about to win it. Yeah.
And I think he was a holder, yes, yes, so,
but was he I think he was our quarterback.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
He was quarterback too, yeah, so it was your quarterback,
so it was you and it just took you guys
down there for a touchdown.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah, so you're thinking him, yeah, but you know, it's
just one of the moments where I show he thinks
about this, but he's announcing now, so I still see him.
But it's just a long flight, man. Yeah, it's a
long flight. I mean you feel bad for your for
your brother. Yeah, you do, you do, right the team? Yeah,
we lost, but you just feel bad for him and so.
But he would on have a great career and you know,
(16:18):
we had a pretty good season next season too. But yeah,
that was that was a moment, but we would That's
the rollers coaster, the yeah sports, it is very true.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
So I'm want to go back to twenty eleven Super
Bowl season. You join the team on November thirtieth, Yeah,
and you guys go to the Super Bowl and you
get there and you get to enjoy all that.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Tell me, what was that experience like for you getting
to the team so late. Yeah, it's like coming up
in somebody's house, man, and they just looking at you
like a stranger man. You had to they were not
waiting for me, right. It was either catch up or
bounce right, right, So it was I knew a couple
(16:59):
of people up there already. It was cool, but it
was it was. It was It was tough because it
was Belichick. They were making a Super Bowl run and
they just needed they needed pieces, you know, and I
just had to come in and know my role. That's
what it was, and that's what it was, know my role,
and so it was fun. It was fun to be
a part of it. At the end, I wish I
could have been there earlier and for the whole way,
(17:20):
But yeah, glad I got the little taste of it. Now,
did you think that would be your last season? M hmm,
that's a good question. Yeah, mm hmm. I don't know.
I mean, it was, it was I was getting there,
you know, you get to the end of your career
and stuff feeling like this feels a little different when
you wake up. It's you know, the love is like, oh,
(17:42):
this is now turning into a grind. And so I
started feeling that a little bit. But I don't think so,
you know. But after the Super Bowl, after we lost,
and I just started putting all the pieces together, I said, man,
this might be a good time. I knew, I knew
I didn't want to go out on my own accord.
You said you did, I did, Okay, I did. I
didn't want to kind of get I wanted to make
sure I walked out on my own. So I think I
(18:04):
just made a decision at that moment. All she's in
the same I'm stick around for a little bit, see
what happens. But if not, I'm And how did you
handle that? Just coming to that decision? Man, A lot
of just a lot of in her, in her faith
and praying and just trusting in the process. Yeah, just
knowing that I was blessed to to do what I
did and so and I had a good run, So
(18:27):
I was I was able to just walk away with
no regrets.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Nate, were you the guy in fourth grade that would
hear from your friends that your girlfriend's gonna break up
with you?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
So you break up with her first? Nope? But I
mean old thinker like that. Okay, okay, but no, you
talked about you your NFL. You're like, you know what,
let me get them first one to give me, you
know what, pray mentality. I think I'm gonna get up
out of here. Yeah, I'm gonna get up out of here.
I did that once. I believe it.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Okay, And so you make the decision to hang it up. Yeah,
that was your decision. I love that you made that
decision because I don't think we knew that what made
you say, okay refereeing And I know they still want
to be around a game. Ye yeah, I still want
to be around a game.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
State That's what it was. But I knew, I knew
I didn't want to kind of do coaching. I didn't
want that route. So I was just up in the
New York office just kind of walking around just really,
so what made what took you to the New York office,
probably signing retirement paper, whatever it was at that time.
Just let me go up there and see what's going
on in New York. Never been there. We don't really
(19:33):
get the New York as players. They will, they say
they come by. They always tell that. Walking around looking
at stuff and seeing who's who. Oh, that's not right.
And I run into a few guys at the time,
it was David Coleman, Terrell Camp, some guys that worked
in your office, and so talking what I got going on,
(19:53):
you know, what you know, and they're like, well, what's
your information? We may have something for you. Literally, that's
how this happened. That's literally is walking around the hallways
of the NFL office had no idea about officiating. Was
not on my radar, but right place, right time. And
and but also if you kind of remember that time,
it was right after the lockout year. Yes, I remember that,
(20:14):
the referee, the whole thing is that locked out. So
it was a lot of attention on the fishing. It
was a really really wild like three weeks again just
just wow. So it was a lot of emphasis on
we gotta do something here, we gotta get this word out,
get start recruiting new pete right. So it was it
was right place, right time. And that's kind of how
I got started. In like in a month or two,
(20:35):
I was at an officiating camp with a uniform one
just out there. We'll be right back after a quick break.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Do you have to buy your own like a uniform
like when you first start, you can get hand me downs.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
But they took care. It was pretty good. We had
a whole you know, we had a bag of stuff, okay,
and so me and a couple other guys, the guys
I was talking about with this kind of got started
right then and there. You know, some of those guys
had been officiating already, but that was my first time
putting outfit on a couple of weeks after that meet.
Do you remember your first flag you ever threw? Probably
was wrong so high yeah, yeah, high school the summer.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
But yeah, So one of the things that we didn't know,
and I don't think fans know when Troy came on
the party, talked about you all meet with a coach
or like a like an officiating coach who's like, uh,
let's just say a position coach, and then that position coach.
There's a coordinator that that position coach officiator meets with,
(21:43):
and then there's like a head official for I guess
the coaches and everybody else, and then there's like a
GM VP, the VP kind of that that oversees all
that I had.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
I had no clue that y'all it went, It went
that deep, you know, in the same format, you know
as what we're used to. You know, we have position
coaches and then you kind of have the decordinator and
then you kind of have the head coach, right. It
kind of just it kind of falls out the same way. Yeah,
And we watch film same way. We we we get tests,
(22:17):
we get you know, training the same way. We just
we don't we don't get the time you know, as
always to do to get out there and get as
many reps as possible because it's hard. It's really hard
to get those reps and mimic those reps. But we
do a lot of study groups, We do a lot
of you know, just disiminating information as much as possible.
It's getting in the rule. Our rule book is I
(22:38):
should have brought a rule book. I don't know if
you've ever seen an NFL rule, I have not. No,
I should have brought it. You know. It's yeah, I'm bad.
It's it's it's it's thick, it's it's it's big. So
it's it's it's it's a learning curve to kind of
get through that and get through all those plays and
all those rules. So yeah, it's knowing every single rule.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like I know most of them,
but I know there's there's a I feel as good
as I am, there's a ton that I don't know.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
You know.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
The thing I think that's probably crazy is that it's
probably not all about the rules that are so hard
for us because you've been playing football, So it's probably
about the situational stuff that comes up that never comes up,
that is in the rule book from like whatever, and
you're just like, all, I just didn't know, Well, this
is what the ball is put when it's this enforcement part, Yes,
(23:25):
that part enforcement is the other half of it.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
The rules are one thing, but knowing how to enforce
the rules, who gets the ball where, with the clock
and then you're throwing replay yes, which is which is
a growing segment of officiating in the game in general.
And so you've got to put all those pieces together
and X amount of seconds before everybody's what's going on, right,
(23:49):
So it's that when we're huddle up on the field,
that's what we're doing. We're putting those pieces together. I've
seen there's this one black rep that I've seen. He's
a high school dude, and and whenever there's like a
deep pass and there's a long play, he is sprinting.
He is getting Yeah, you still got your speed. I
can still run. But we don't move like that. They
(24:10):
don't want us running like that, okay, because when you're
when you're sprinting like I used to do that in
high school. Used to go out there, I want to
race the players and beat them to the goal line,
you know what I mean? Yeah, hey, I might beat
the rights. When that's when you're a young boy. As
you get older as a player, you don't have to
(24:31):
make as many moves to get in the position to
make a play when you get older. Right right, I
know where this route is going. Same thing as official,
Like we don't want you moving so much, like we
want you to get there and be still watch the play,
see it all. Because when you're running, you're bouncing, you
all over the place and you miss stuff. But so
as you watch older veteran officials, they they don't move
(24:51):
as much. They just get to where they got to
get to see a play. And so that's how you
can tell a young officials real feet everywhere, but old
officials real move. So you're that O G. I'm trying
to get there, trying to get there watching the old cast.
But yeah, you just you just get to the point
where you just you get into position. And so we've
we've but that always we're working on mechanics where sometimes
(25:12):
we're slower, sometimes we're faster, we're deeper, so we're trying
to get to that you know, that sweet spot. But
generally you want to encapsulate the.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Play understood, understood, So now are you a field judge
or a side judge.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
I'm both, I've did I did both. I'm deep wing
on the sidelines. I was fiel judge for a couple
of years. I switched a side judge. It's essentially the same.
Explain that to the viewer right here in your camera.
What is the difference between the field and the side
we know? Right, so the three deeps field judge, back judge,
side judge. We're on the defensive side of the ball,
(25:43):
behind the defense, and we're responsible for the defense. You know,
we're DP I holding, counting the defense. We we got
all that stuff. You don't really see us side the camera.
All side is not us. That's all those guys on
the line judge and line judge headlines. Yes, so I'm deep.
I'm twenty thirty yards twenty twenty five yards off the
line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball
(26:05):
on the sideline. We switch every half, so I start
on the home team or I start on the way
go to home. Right, So we get both sides, both coaches,
and we're looking at receivers, tight ends, all the eligibles.
That's that's where we are. And so we got the
Our game can be very slow, you may not get
a lot of action, and all of a sudden you get,
(26:25):
you know, three deep passes in a row. So we
got the big, big DPI call, which is our biggest call,
probably the biggest call in the game. And so that's
our baby, that's our bread and butter. So we got
to be good with that. We got the punt plays
and all that on the returner. So, but DPI is
that's the one. That's the one that's it's a big foul.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
I'm not gonna take Peanut on his soakebox on this
because he thinks it should only be fifteen yards and
they used and he also believe that if you offensive
foul offensive PI, if it's twenty yards down the field,
the offense should lose twenty This is he's a big thing.
There's a competition committee, you can I am trying to
(27:06):
do that. Trying to do that is what I am
trying to I'm exercising all my contacts. How let your
boy all right, I got one for you, Nate hold on, Okay,
which one.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
Do you prefer? As far as what side or the
only difference is between side and field judge. The side
judge goes behind the ball on field golds, so he's
right there and mixing the field judges underneath the goal post.
You know, one A, one B, they're both I got
you one yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
So what is it like to get the call up
to the NFL? Is it like in the minor leagues
in baseball where you get the call?
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Is it like draft day? Like? What is that call?
What is that like? What is that similar to draft days?
Not just we don't have a you're not looking at
a board and it's not it's similar though, because okay,
you said it's getting back to the league. Yeah, so
it's it's a it's a big call. Yeah, it's it's
probably the second or third biggest phone call I ever got.
(28:06):
Explain that. Take us to that. Yeah, you're because we
get hired around April and May. That's when they hire
NFL officials. So you know, if you're close, but you
have no idea if you're going to get the call out.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
How do you know if you're close, Like you're working
in certain conferences in.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
College or and we have a development program. Okay, but
in college and the NFL they have a development right now.
It's called the MACKI Development program. So you've got guys
that you kind of see that they're looking at You're
going they're going to your bowl games, or scouts looking
at you. I've seen the what was the blonde lady,
she's a oh yeah, she's a line judge, Sarah Sarah. Yeah.
I saw her come up college.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
She was calling my games, saw right, Yeah, working in
the training camp saw for years and now always on
the sideline. So it's like like I take take pride.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
And see her doing the work in ten years now. Yes,
yeah she did well. But it's like that, you know,
if you're in the development program and they're looking at you,
you've got an idea. Okay, not guarantee you just like
in the league, right, but you have an idea. And
how they call who they call and what they're looking
for is that's Troy. That's Troy and the supervisor and
the VP and all that they get together and that's
(29:16):
their decision. But you just kind of know you're one
of maybe twenty they're looking at. Right. And so I
interviewed up in New York first, and then once you interview,
you know you're it could be coming soon. So that's
like the combine the iView process, right, that's right. Okay,
that's right. Okay, I didn't know me either.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
What are the interactions like with the DBS being a
former player, is it is it like respect? Is it
just you cast them not even know?
Speaker 1 (29:44):
That's cool because because typically the head coach and the
teams they study us too, right, absolutely that we definitely
do the free report. Yeah right, love throw oh you
before you get there. And good thing about being a
phone player, I can talk to them how we used
(30:05):
to talk to each other, and I can speak that
language to them, so right away they're like, okay, I
get it, you know. And so I use that to
my advantage when I'm speaking to him trying to get
him calm down or whatever it may be. But it's
usually respect. Yeah, laugh, respect jokes. You know, I've never
had an issue with DB's man, It's just we're cut
from the same class, so we've always I've had no issues.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Nate, how long are you planning to be a referee?
Like I know, you know you don't come across as
the hockey type, I mean, not even as Jack as
he is, So I mean you decent, but like damn,
I mean Hockley bros.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Next level dude, you just shut out. He has a
son now to that I know, right, Yeah, and he's
kind of swoll to. Yeah. Yeah, he's good dude, both
of them. No, I mean the good thing about officiating
is you stay. You stayed apart and do what you
gotta do. You can, you can do it for the
next twenty you know, you can be twenty thirty year. Right,
(31:00):
We'll see how it goes. I'm enjoining, I'm having fun.
Hopefully don't get sick of me.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Yeah, yeah, do you plan on do you you know
you start off at one, then is it like a
certain program or progress to where you become the head?
Speaker 1 (31:15):
That's a good question. I mean they kind of the
white hat we call them. Yes, he's the chees you
can get. You can let them know, Hey, I have
aspirations when they do that.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Yeah, because a lot of guys just stay what they're
doing for a long time as well.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
That's right. I can stay at field judge side judge
for the next twenty years and so be it. But
if I say, hey, you know you have I want
to be a white head over can I look at
you and say yeah or nay? Right? But typically they
bring guys in it, have referee back around from college,
bring them in, work them in, get them used to it,
then make that switch later in their career. So they
kind of have those guys out there working on other
(31:50):
positions already. Yeah, so you know they have whatever five
or ten guys that may they had their eye on, Like, okay,
we know somebody retires, he's read you know what I mean.
So they usually pull it like that. So okay, ready,
I like I likes that go out there and when
when they have to go out and explain what the
flag is and they give a quick commentary, but the
commentary is just like yo flag on seventy five, it
(32:13):
was given ninety seven. The business Like, I do like that.
You like those.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
It's hilarious because it's not traditional. It's not your traditional referee.
Some referees they got like I got a personality, that's right,
that's I kind of I kind of like that.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
I want to know this.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Do you like practice like I know, because you're not
the head guy, so you don't have to announce it everybody. Yeah,
but like in the mirror, you ever like you practice,
you get like you gotta like you practice first out
and practice the field goes correct.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
And more than that, you gotta know your mechanics, how
you look you're right. Also, you know when we throw
our flags, there's there's a we're not just throwing it.
You gotta we got to you gotta get to certain
spots because those flags represent what the foul was there isn't. Yeah,
you got to get to a certain area, okay, the
foul happened there. Also, you want to miss players, right,
we want to hit players, Well, was then time, but
(33:04):
that's that's you know, we don't want to do that.
You gotta you gotta be decent with you. Sometimes you'll
see ificials, we get excited and we start missing it,
and that's that's a fumble for us. Right Like that
looks crazy, but you know you want to be spoons
with it when you get it. Because you do this,
it makes you look nervous.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Please tell me you'll like, oh, you don't know what
you're doing. Please tell me, y'all make fun of each
other from when y'all y'all we got we got to
Yeah your hat, Yeah, you drop the hat just.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Like in meetings with us, you know it's coming that
next week they're gonna get on you right, yeah they should. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
What are your thoughts on the new technology with the
with the football and how how it's being measured and
and things like that. What are you and do you
think it will help?
Speaker 1 (33:49):
The game? Game is so I mean, it's down to
the inch now, right, it's getting so cameras and everybody's watching.
So I think technology can help us. We don't want
to to run the game, right, we don't. We don't.
We don't want to run it, just cameras. At the
same time, technology can help with certain spots and certain
situations where we can't see we can't see everything, so.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
Especially with the way some of the cameras set up,
you literally just can't can't see, right.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
So I think technology can help, and we're embracing it
and we're letting you know, we're trying new things every
year with spots and just getting where the ball should be.
And so I think you're going to see more and
more and more of that as the game as the
years going.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Nate, do you give all these other like the UFL,
do you give them all the credit?
Speaker 1 (34:34):
How much credit do you give them?
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Because they're the they're the trial and their league right now?
Speaker 1 (34:40):
And I hate to say that for the technology, we're.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
The technologies for a lot of the things that the
NFL is like, I think we may adopt that.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
I would have to think that there's some type of
relationship with Hey, we're gonna let y'all try this first,
and if it works, we're gonna pick it up.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Yeah, they've done half to yes, like the quick replays
now they're like, yeah, you don't even.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
Have to go and look at it. We got it. Yeah,
expertitic reviews some of this stuff. And I think fans
love it. I think people's game love it. I think
coaches love it. So try it here, move it on
up and so it works. And actually the UFL is
it's another good training ground for younger officials that are
working their way up to the NFL because a lot
of those guys that work there are you know, getting
looked at. So it's great to have that league around
(35:25):
just push year. Nay, what a question. I mean, it's
a super hard play to officiate. It. It was you
know when they got it's hard about it? Well, it's
I think it's the line up that the guys when
they line up on that line and who's off side
and who's not right because it is it just the
hand in front of the ball, is it not? It's
other than that for us, deep guys, we're trying to
(35:47):
just you know, we're looking for this. Those guys on
the line got a hard job because it's it's it's
you know, forty four hands in there and whose hand
is where? And but the players. I don't mind the play.
I don't mind the play. I don't either by the
letter of the law. From what I was my understanding
of my interpretation, and the law was all about how
(36:07):
you interpret it. You are not supposed to aid the runner,
correct and philosophy thing. We don't want you pulling the runner.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
You can push and push all they for.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Me, No, you have a foul now is pulling or
you actually pick a guy up and walk him in
that's the foul. Everybody get into a scrum and pushing,
that's that's right now, that's fair game. Mm hmmm. So
we can push, we can't. We don't want to pull.
We don't want to lift up, you know, praise, jump
on somebody's shoulders. That's that's foul. Those are fouls. But
(36:50):
a scrum and gosh, everybody in it like that that's
just it's it's too hard to stay consistent on that.
So know that that right now, that's why the pushes
is able to go understood. I'm good, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Yeah, he has an angle. I want to I want
to ask you. We got a couple more minutes. I
want to be able to ask you about somebody who
I think has probably had a really good influence on you,
and that's Greg Ciano.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
Seems like the only coach that can win at Rutgers. Wow,
it hurts, man, but yeah, no, it's go ahead.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
No, I want to what has he meant to you
as a coach, I mean as a player, as a person.
Who was he because I've heard really good stories about
him then I've heard like, you know, when he was
at Tampa, man, he was like brutally hard on guys
and so but at Rutgers he's been successful, right, And
(37:44):
you know, we.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
Know a lot of college coaches. Is tough enough to
make that trans but it is to answer your question. Now,
Greg's been great for Rutgers, for the state of New Jersey.
You know, I'm proud of Rutgers. I'm proud of New Jersey.
Greg Ciano actually sat me down in his office, you know,
that same year before that, and because I was this
guy that was you know, I mean, I'm playing, but
(38:04):
I'm also like I'm going to Wall Street, I'm gonna
go study this finance, and I'm gonna live in New
York right that that's and he actually sat me down
one day. It was like between my sophomore and junior year.
He could tell I was kind of, you know, waffling
and you know flow, just floating through, like you know,
not really appreciating the opportunity. And you know, Greg he
had came from Miami, he came from the Bears, and
he had all his experience, and so he sat me down.
(38:26):
He was the first person to really tell me, like,
you have what it takes to make it. Never heard
that before really, So when you so it's true, when
you tell a kid at that impressionable age that he's
good enough to do something, how that could just you know,
get things going. So he did. He didn't say in
those words, there's a lot more, you know what I mean,
(38:46):
curse and every but but you know, I'm taking internships
at Merrill Lynch and I'm doing things over the summer.
I'm trying to get you. I'm trying to get you
somewhere else, come come back, you know, and so and
so it was. And I have a respect for him
for that. And uh yeah, Greg was good. He was
he was good for me. He was good. He's good
for the program. I'm happy they're still there in the
Big ten. They are so we put good, good players
(39:10):
out every year. We got guys do the NFL. So
I'm happy for Rutgers. Right. So I want to talk
about twenty twelve.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Yeah, it's a show called Jacket, and it's supposed to
be the sports version of Friends.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
And you shot the pilot. Yeah, what happened with it? Man?
I thought I was trying to get in Hollywood, man,
Hollywood finance. Yeah, you just creative. I was a firefighter too, Okay, Yeah,
I did a lot of stuff. Man. You know, actually
when you when you get out of the league, you
kind of go through that period where you're trying to
(39:45):
I was an agent, I was. I was. I was
doing the FBI. I was in that route too, by
the way, I did that, And so I was looking
at everything, you know, secret service. I just you know,
you're trying to find trying to reinvent yourself right to
get to where we are now, because once you the league,
you kind of you got that identity crisis. You're like,
you know, where do I Where do I fit in
society now? Right? And so I tried a lot of things.
(40:06):
I tried a lot of things, and so that was
an experiment in LA and with some people, and it
was cool to kind of see how LA works and
having any auditions and all that. But I quickly learned
that that world is not for me. So that just
got shelved. We'll be right back. One of the questions
we asked all of our guests for people of influence,
(40:28):
people that have helped you, shaped you, mold you to
who you are today from the time you're born till
today right now, who would those four people be? You know?
Shout out to my parents, right, both of them still around,
still together, Love them. Mom and Dad had a height.
I had a pee week coach, mister Patterson. He was
(40:51):
my first football coach when I was young, high school coach.
And then again just just probably the bills parcels and
it's more than four. But I could just keep naming them, man,
because I didn't get here on my own. Yeah, id
to get her on my own. I had a lot
of breaks, had a lot of people vouched for me.
A lot of people buy into me and believe in me.
(41:13):
So I can. I could probably list twenty, but just
those immediate people that had impacts on our lives. The coaches,
the parents, day in day out, take you back and
forth to practice. My grandmother when she couldn't drive at night,
and she drive it real slow picking me up from practice,
and all the cars are behind us, and I'm just
you know those people, man, Yeah, none moments, man, I'm
(41:35):
just like, I problemse. I'm not gonna get mad next
time I'm behind that yeah, yeah, leaving it. Be careful
on man, man, because she might be picking that brands
up for practice. That next star might be in the
car right there, he's right right Manah, there's those people
who I'm getting mad. I'm sorry, I'm getting mad out
the way. So no, it was, it was. It was
those people who I mean just you know, throughout my youth,
(41:58):
high school and college, yeah, careers, and then yeah, they
just they just bought in. So I appreciate them. Yeah. Yeah,
last one I got for you. You what I'm alan? I
some diamond ear rings and when you be officiating. Yeah,
you know, I don't think nobody out there linging boy,
Nate man.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
I got to ask this before I give you all
your flowers too. You're traveler, yeah all right, you're you're
not married?
Speaker 1 (42:24):
No? Do you have kids? No? No kids? Not married?
You should travel? All right? I love it. You've been
to how many countries? Eighty eighty five?
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Ninety five? Now that article was older, yes, all right,
oh yeah, so all right, ninety five countries.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Yeah. I can't even ask for a top five.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
But where where would you say, you know, for all
of our I guess single listeners out there. I guess
I can ask married listeners next. But you you you're
not even looking at that. Let's just give me your
five places that we should go.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
I mean, I think single or marriage everybody. Yeah, good,
stay out of trouble with that one. So you got
to you got them. I'm not gonna get in, So
go ahead. I think the Mediterranean region is just my favorite.
You've been there, Yeah, we've been there. Yeah, we've been
south South South Africa, south of France. Yeah, the food,
(43:21):
the vibe, everything over there. I just got back from Dubai.
If you've never been there. That's from a travel right. So,
and then you know in Africa, which is a contint
I need to get to more of. But you say,
you got to Egypt and South Africa and just being
out there. I'm trying to get the Kenya this year.
Was there in December. Yeah, okay, amazing, good. Yeah, I
(43:42):
want to check that off the list. So some of
these places in that part of the world is just
you got to go to Ghana too, Yeah, yeah, Ghana. Uh,
but those are those are some. And then you got Japan,
which was my first My first big trip was to
Japan and I was like in the league, like twenty
two years old, and so that's that vibe over there
and just the cold shu. They really preserved their culture there,
(44:02):
really kind of friendly to Americans. And so I've been
to some crazy places too, as far as I've been
a Haiti on a mission trip, which is probably the
most dangerous place I've ever been. You know, just out
there and you know that it's it's still pretty dangerous.
And so I kind of covered the whole gambit. But
I really love the Mediterranean region the most. The food,
(44:25):
the culture, of the vibe is just it's incredible.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
I'm still amazed that Japan is one of the only
places to never be colonized.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
It's one of the only few countries I've never been.
That's why they preserved their culture.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
That is exactly why I love that they have fully
bought in being self depended all the time, because they
understand that part of it. Super interesting, Nate Man, Man, dude,
great job. We could sit up here and talk and
I know Peanut would just fire more and more officiating
questions at you, but we'll try to do that off camera.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
Man number thirty three on the field right here too,
to number thirty three on the field. That's referee, right.
Speaker 2 (45:04):
I'll be looking for you now because I guess that's
how we got to try and record easy Easy.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
On one of your own is down there. Make it
easy on them, all right.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
We will, man, dude. And uh, I know you guys
keep your hats on so you try and stay out
of the way, all right. Man, Thanks for pouring into us, bro.
That was awesome. I really really enjoyed your story, your journey.
Like I said before, you are first and so hopefully
you won't be our last, and that we'll have to
have this coming up yeah. Yeah, it's not only that,
but dude, come back, yeah, come back. We can pat
(45:35):
it more so and you can give us more and
more stories. Man, So thank you for that. You want
to say anything before I get us out of here?
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Now you got it?
Speaker 2 (45:41):
I got it baby coming and pouring into us the
gout man. For all of our viewers and listeners out there,
wherever you pick up your podcast whereas iHeartRadio Apple podcasts,
give us a five star rating review, click that follow button,
leave a couple of comments and read them for you.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
Yeah, absolutely try to read.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
Check us out on the NFL YouTube channel we go man,
tell a friend to tell a friend to do what Peanut?
Speaker 1 (46:02):
Check us out, baby, Peanut, get us out of here, man,
I'm Peanut Nate Rome. This is the NFL Player's second
XT podcast, Way Out.
Do you like practice like today? Everybody?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Yeah, but like in the mirror, you ever like you
practice like you gotta like you practice first down and
practice the field goes correct.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
And more than that, you gotta know your mechanics, how
you look right. Sometimes you'll see if it's when we
get excited and we start missing it, that's that's a
fumble for us, right, like that look crazy, but you
know you want to be spooned with it when you
get it. Because you do this, it makes you look nervous.
(00:34):
What's up, everybody? I'm peanut to him and and this
is the NFL Player Second Acts podcast with me as
always as my trusty co host Roman.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, you like it? Just yeah, appreciate that. I'm really
looking at that. I don't even know what that is. Yeah,
you shouldn't. It's a TJ Max purchase. It was great
Number one. I can't wait to have our next guest on.
Super cool guy, very accomplished, and he he's the first
yeah for us first first right now it is I
(01:04):
don't want to give away what he does, but he
is a before you talk about his whole resume, he
is currently a referee in the NFL. So you first
my intro up. I had a whole thing that I
was doing and you mess it up. He came into
the league twice, once as a player and secondly as
an officially played eight years in the league. Latest gym
w and walk up to the pod missing Nate.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Joe, thank you, thank you fellas. You might be the
only one to ever do that, coming to the league twice. Yeah,
it's right now on the staff. It's two others Terry
Kilns and Mike Morton. Oh yeah, so it's three of
us total right now on the staff that have played
and now also officiating. So it's one hundred and twenty
(01:44):
of us all together on the field, but only only
three players.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
And no, you know, I know that you don't have
to go into detail, but I know everybody was mad
at the one that was with the they used to
play for the Rams. I don't even know his name,
that that refereed the Saints game and the ENFGY champions.
It was all the conspiracies out there. I'm not saying
though any of those things are true. That's what happens
with your former player. You get the spotlight on you
(02:08):
a little bit. Oh yeah, you know what I mean.
So that's just part of it. So tell me, like,
what is that, because I think it's a totally different process.
When you know, they always say like former players. Sometimes
NFL coaches or coaches in college give former players a
harder time before they actually get in. They want them
(02:28):
to have to go through the grunt work, the grind work,
and they don't want you just to say, oh, I played,
so I should deserve to get here. Is it how
close or similar to that situation is that in the
refereeing game?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Very? I mean when I got in, we started with
twenty or thirty guys former players. Only three of us
really matriculated into the actual program. Because so many of
us former players, we think, well, we thought that when
you get off the field, we're gonna go work LSU
Alabama next year. Right, you can't do it, Yes, you
got to go back to pee weee middle school, high school,
(03:00):
small college, big college. You have to keep working up
the ladder. Right, And so how long did that take
for me? It took about six years. Okay, that's super fast. Yeah.
You know a lot of guys have started when they
were eighteen nineteen. They don't get into their like forty
you know, oh, Wow. Yeah, So it's it was a
it was a very fast track program. So it was
(03:22):
it was learning to go a swim. But it is
a process. Yeah, you got to take your lumps along
the way because as players, we know the game one way, right,
and so we're trying to get to that age. Now.
I got to back guys away from that age, you
know what I mean. And so I got all the rules. Now,
we just knew legal contact deep, we knew it to
(03:43):
pertain to us right now. I got to know everything.
So it's it's it's way more up here. You know,
taxing after a game. Yeah, what's your favorite team to
throw the most flags on? I don't have a favorite,
but there are awesome teams that do get more flags,
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
So you know, we had Troy Vincent on here and
he broke down a couple of the statistically things that
I thought was crazy interesting. And Peanut was a big
on this cause Peanut likes to challenge Troy all the time.
Anytime we get Troy, Peanuts load locked and loaded.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
I don't have to talk a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And so the recognition rate, that's what you guys are
graded on, because I don't think everybody understands how much
referees are judged like they are graded.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
They guys break down film.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
You guys are judged and graded on your recognition, right,
and then the throw rate. These are the two things.
So do I recognize it is that one hundred percent?
And then do I throw the penalty?
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Right?
Speaker 2 (04:41):
And so how do you determine, like, are you a
guy that's always trying to be the one that throws?
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Or do you like oh?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Or do you or is it like football where the
moment you hesitate is the moment you're done.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
It's a art to this, Okay, Yeah, I was wondering
about that. There's an art to it. It's like there's
a science and in an art, right. Yeah, there's the
rules by the letter of the law, and then there
is an art to how you officiate the game, because
really we are game managers. Yeah, you don't want to
be the you're not trying to be the start. We're
not trying to be the stars. We don't want the show.
We don't want the cameras on us. Our job is
(05:15):
to manage the game within the rules, within the mechanics,
to make sure everybody sure there's a fair and unbiased game.
And everybody is, you know, held to the same rules
and the same standards. So there is an art to this,
and we have philosophies on how we throw, what it means, what,
how much of a grab is a foul, how much
(05:36):
of this is a foul, and that that is kind
of always moving, you know, just you're in year out
speed of the game, whatever we're concentrating on, you know,
and so you have to be able to adjust. And so, yes,
you see a pull, but if a guy runs through it,
we let it go, right, you know, if it doesn't
have a material effect on the play, you let some
(05:58):
things go. You write it up. Hey, I saw that,
but I passed because X Y Z right. And so
the official that's able to really recognize and make that
snap decision on how much effect it had on a
play on it whatever. Those are the guys that kind
of rise to the top. So you can't just throw
in every little grab pull because you're still in the
(06:19):
game down all day every day.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Was there ever, was there ever a moment where you
was just like, I missed it. I need to do
a replay. I know, I got to do something. I
got these coaches yelling at me, Hey, did you see it? Well,
you many conferences, so you start, I mean you started JV,
so so you know what's ref.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Of a JV game like besides trying to keep helmet songs,
trying to get them lined up, right, you're lining them
up too, so you learn them manage the game. You
can't throw a lot of flags in JV game, right, right,
It's got to get the super big stuff. But that
also applies in the game. You want to you want
to make sure you still get material files. And so
(07:00):
your question, it happens. Yeah, no, you know when you
kick something, yeah, right, just you could. It's at our level,
the NFL level, it's so fast, literally you can blink. Yeah,
it's very true. And unfortunately now there's sixty cameras and
so everybody's gonna know, you know, and so it happens.
You know, we all go through that. But hopefully our
(07:22):
mechanics and our other crewmates and all the fail states
we have in place help us. Not that doesn't happen
a lot. All right.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I want to actually talk about your NFL career, because
I mean your your your football career.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
You want you want to say, go ahead, keep talking
about it.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I just want to do like make up calls, though,
Is there is there ever a point to where I
don't want to say you you make up the call?
But is there ever a point to where you just
like I think I should, like, I know I miss one.
I'm gonna just get it back on this next one
if I see it?
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Is there ever, like not if you want to keep
your job?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
OK, I was gonna say too, I'm with you, you got it,
you got I'm with you on this one, Nate, you
gotta you gotta.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
I mean if because we say that as like, oh
that's a makeup call, I think I think NBA, if
you definitely know you miss when you kick for sure
and you know it, sometimes you don't know it. I
really think, hey, I nail that right, But if you
know you missed one, A kick one? No you can't, can't.
You gotta you gotta let it burn, yeah, and they
ain't move on and keep it still as fair as possible.
(08:22):
You can't let the crowd the booing, boom and the booming.
Now you're like, I gotta get him off my back. No,
you don't do that. I love it, I love it.
Don't do that. So I got one more question and
you can don't.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Don't say a name, don't say a team. Okay, has
there ever been a time where a coach or player
has said something so crazy and you was just like, Yeah,
I'm gonna lose my job because you ain't gonna talk
to me that way.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
I'm finna, I'm Nate Jonesman, you ain't gonna do this
to me.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I'm a man first, this is a job. I'm a man.
I'm a grown man at that.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
This is your dad's favorite statement too, I'm a man first.
I'm a man first. Forget did this job? He ain't
gonna talk to me a respect me in my short
six seven year career. I don't think it's happened in
the NFL. No high school college. You got to worry
about that more at the pee wee and high school level,
especially in Texas.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, parents popping offping off. This worst there is there
is there like a story.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
This worst there. I mean, you know, you know these
play Texas, Florida, California, some of these places where sports
are very very important at a young age. I mean
you walking together back to the car, Okay, you know
what I mean? Yeah, it gets like that sometimes and
you know I can't say anything was ever drawn, nothing
like that. I don't have anything that crazy, but you
(09:40):
definitely are planning your exit in certain neighborhood deserted areas,
say less. This is exactly why.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
At an AAU basketball game two weeks ago in Charlotte,
North Carolina, a referee had a gun in his bag
and it went off in the in the arena.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Wow, wait what? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
I don't he just I don't even know why, but
I guess he felt unsafe. I don't know nobody was hurt.
I mean he was wrestling around in his bag and
it went off. That's how he got caught. Anyways. But
this is where we're at right now. This is where
we're at right now. You probably got horror stories as well.
We'll come back to reference, but we're just too excited,
so we're gonna we aint never had one.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Yes, what happens? How do you feel about this?
Speaker 2 (10:22):
He's kind of like having a politician in here, right,
is exactly what so many questions. We just have questions,
But we want to talk about your balling career as well.
Take me back to one of your bigger plays in
college when you're at the ruck. You know, yeah, one
hundred yard kickoff return to open the game up versus
Tennessee's I watched the play. I mean you wrote out,
(10:44):
I mean you kind of made one move and then
you just one hundred and three thousand in attendance. Well,
it's probably bigger than that. Actually, I think that's just
the raw number, but Tennessee has more than twenty five.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I'm just saying for that, like, why you don't do that?
I just I just know it's a bigger stadium then,
So that was that was I was a little unknown
before that, you know, and so everybody has you know,
we probably have a moment in our career. Were like
I'm ready and we were coming from Rutgers, which we've
struggled our first two years there, right, Shana had just
came there, and we're going to Tennessee. They're looking at
(11:18):
us like where are these guys from you know, were
walking through the stadium. They're just like about to blow
us out the water, and uh yeah, it was it
was just us verse down and uh first play the game,
take it back whole stadium? Quiet, quiet, quiet, That was
my moment. Yeah, you had them great gloves looking at
the crowd like what's up. That was my moment. That's
(11:39):
my moment. I still try to find some film on that.
It's greeny, but definitely great. It was. That was my moment,
and that kind of helped me start to kind of
get a little little shine.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah you were you did a lot of good punt
kick return to college, Yeah, that was like a big
mainstay for you.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
If that was If that was your college moment, what
was your walk to the NFL moment? Welcome to the
NFL would have to be rookie training camp versus Larry
Allen trying to blitz up the line. Yeah, he just
stuck that arm out and I just was like, Okay,
it's a different level of human beings up here, you know.
(12:18):
Welcome to the NFL. Right, Yeah. So yeah, I got
a chance to play some really good players. Larry Allen
was one of them. Rest in peace, by the way.
Yeah I did pass away, but no, I mean that
started my career and I ended my career you know
at Super Bowl Tom Brady, Right, So we lost that one,
but it was still it was a great journey. I
have no regrets, have some good plays in between there,
(12:40):
but but it was it was a good run. Yeah,
and I left it all out. So you played with
the two big fishes, the Bill pars both Bills and
Bill Belichick. Yeah, what was that like? Who explain their
coaching styles? Bill versus Bill. They're gonna get in your head,
you know. You know, if you have a bad game
(13:00):
with Parcels, right, the dvs say, Parcels, Parcels, you have
a bad game, right, Yeah, big tune us that next week.
You know, you're coming out to practice and he'll be
working out like six d vs right there, right, just
so you can see, you know what I mean. They
were just they expected a lot from you, and they
would have prototypical coaches that pulled every ounce that you
didn't think you had out of you, right, and they
(13:22):
didn't take a lot of you know, the bs, and
so you just you had to show up and perform
or stay out of trouble. Yeah, and so they were
they're hard coaches, but they both Hall of famers. Blessed
to play with, both of them, are still keep in
contact with, you know, Parcels and so very very fortunate
because they definitely helped steer my career.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
You know, it's funny because Bill Parcells was never my coach,
but I did have Sean Payton, who's a descendant of
He was around in Dallas and stuff as well. And
it's hilarious because I missed the tackling the game, and
then like that next Tuesday Wednesday, we're like outstretch line
and Sean comes up to me like, hey, Parcels told
(14:03):
because he would just get message from Parcels because Parcels
watched all the games and so Parcels would pass it down.
He's like, I tell this player, I told this. And
he's like, Parceales told me to tell you. A safety
that misses tackles, it's a safety that doesn't have a job.
And then he just walks off and he's like, these
would do this is the type of stuff. So did
(14:24):
they get in your head?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Of course it did. Yeah, it's just like early in
your career, Lad, in your career. Definitely, it was early.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
It was like your two oh yeah, so yeah and
uh but the next game I did make that tackle
though in open field, and it's just like a challenge. Yeah,
they're going to challenge you, and if it's your day,
it'd be somebody else's day. In the stretch line, like
they're just going to say something to kind of just
be in your head a little bit. So, Uh, these
things have definitely passed down. Uh, it's been interesting to
(14:52):
see and I hope Bill Bill Parcells is doing well.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Haven't heard from him, Rasinem in a while.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
You were there in that two thousand and six with
the Cowboys, that the famous Romo Box Snap game. You
guys are going to win it hard fall game. This
was like a thing that Romo couldn't win a game
in the playoffs and this was just one chance to
get it done. What were your emotions, How did that
whole thing kind of unravel? What was the feelings like
(15:22):
in the locker room after that game when you like,
I think we were supposed to win that game up
in Seattle.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yes, yeah, definitely remember that game. I was a long
flight home. You just don't even know what happens, right,
because you get so close that you just you just ready,
You're like, this is we're about to win it. Yeah.
And I think he was a holder, yes, yes, so,
but was he I think he was our quarterback.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
He was quarterback too, yeah, so it was your quarterback,
so it was you and it just took you guys
down there for a touchdown.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah, so you're thinking him, yeah, but you know, it's
just one of the moments where I show he thinks
about this, but he's announcing now, so I still see him.
But it's just a long flight, man. Yeah, it's a
long flight. I mean you feel bad for your for
your brother. Yeah, you do, you do, right the team? Yeah,
we lost, but you just feel bad for him and so.
But he would on have a great career and you know,
(16:18):
we had a pretty good season next season too. But yeah,
that was that was a moment, but we would That's
the rollers coaster, the yeah sports, it is very true.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
So I'm want to go back to twenty eleven Super
Bowl season. You join the team on November thirtieth, Yeah,
and you guys go to the Super Bowl and you
get there and you get to enjoy all that.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Tell me, what was that experience like for you getting
to the team so late. Yeah, it's like coming up
in somebody's house, man, and they just looking at you
like a stranger man. You had to they were not
waiting for me, right. It was either catch up or
bounce right, right, So it was I knew a couple
(16:59):
of people up there already. It was cool, but it
was it was. It was It was tough because it
was Belichick. They were making a Super Bowl run and
they just needed they needed pieces, you know, and I
just had to come in and know my role. That's
what it was, and that's what it was, know my role,
and so it was fun. It was fun to be
a part of it. At the end, I wish I
could have been there earlier and for the whole way,
(17:20):
But yeah, glad I got the little taste of it. Now,
did you think that would be your last season? M hmm,
that's a good question. Yeah, mm hmm. I don't know.
I mean, it was, it was I was getting there,
you know, you get to the end of your career
and stuff feeling like this feels a little different when
you wake up. It's you know, the love is like, oh,
(17:42):
this is now turning into a grind. And so I
started feeling that a little bit. But I don't think so,
you know. But after the Super Bowl, after we lost,
and I just started putting all the pieces together, I said, man,
this might be a good time. I knew, I knew
I didn't want to go out on my own accord.
You said you did, I did, Okay, I did. I
didn't want to kind of get I wanted to make
sure I walked out on my own. So I think I
(18:04):
just made a decision at that moment. All she's in
the same I'm stick around for a little bit, see
what happens. But if not, I'm And how did you
handle that? Just coming to that decision? Man, A lot
of just a lot of in her, in her faith
and praying and just trusting in the process. Yeah, just
knowing that I was blessed to to do what I
did and so and I had a good run, So
(18:27):
I was I was able to just walk away with
no regrets.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Nate, were you the guy in fourth grade that would
hear from your friends that your girlfriend's gonna break up
with you?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
So you break up with her first? Nope? But I
mean old thinker like that. Okay, okay, but no, you
talked about you your NFL. You're like, you know what,
let me get them first one to give me, you
know what, pray mentality. I think I'm gonna get up
out of here. Yeah, I'm gonna get up out of here.
I did that once. I believe it.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Okay, And so you make the decision to hang it up. Yeah,
that was your decision. I love that you made that
decision because I don't think we knew that what made
you say, okay refereeing And I know they still want
to be around a game. Ye yeah, I still want
to be around a game.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
State That's what it was. But I knew, I knew
I didn't want to kind of do coaching. I didn't
want that route. So I was just up in the
New York office just kind of walking around just really,
so what made what took you to the New York office,
probably signing retirement paper, whatever it was at that time.
Just let me go up there and see what's going
on in New York. Never been there. We don't really
(19:33):
get the New York as players. They will, they say
they come by. They always tell that. Walking around looking
at stuff and seeing who's who. Oh, that's not right.
And I run into a few guys at the time,
it was David Coleman, Terrell Camp, some guys that worked
in your office, and so talking what I got going on,
(19:53):
you know, what you know, and they're like, well, what's
your information? We may have something for you. Literally, that's
how this happened. That's literally is walking around the hallways
of the NFL office had no idea about officiating. Was
not on my radar, but right place, right time. And
and but also if you kind of remember that time,
it was right after the lockout year. Yes, I remember that,
(20:14):
the referee, the whole thing is that locked out. So
it was a lot of attention on the fishing. It
was a really really wild like three weeks again just
just wow. So it was a lot of emphasis on
we gotta do something here, we gotta get this word out,
get start recruiting new pete right. So it was it
was right place, right time. And that's kind of how
I got started. In like in a month or two,
(20:35):
I was at an officiating camp with a uniform one
just out there. We'll be right back after a quick break.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Do you have to buy your own like a uniform
like when you first start, you can get hand me downs.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
But they took care. It was pretty good. We had
a whole you know, we had a bag of stuff, okay,
and so me and a couple other guys, the guys
I was talking about with this kind of got started
right then and there. You know, some of those guys
had been officiating already, but that was my first time
putting outfit on a couple of weeks after that meet.
Do you remember your first flag you ever threw? Probably
was wrong so high yeah, yeah, high school the summer.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
But yeah, So one of the things that we didn't know,
and I don't think fans know when Troy came on
the party, talked about you all meet with a coach
or like a like an officiating coach who's like, uh,
let's just say a position coach, and then that position coach.
There's a coordinator that that position coach officiator meets with,
(21:43):
and then there's like a head official for I guess
the coaches and everybody else, and then there's like a
GM VP, the VP kind of that that oversees all
that I had.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
I had no clue that y'all it went, It went
that deep, you know, in the same format, you know
as what we're used to. You know, we have position
coaches and then you kind of have the decordinator and
then you kind of have the head coach, right. It
kind of just it kind of falls out the same way. Yeah,
And we watch film same way. We we we get tests,
(22:17):
we get you know, training the same way. We just
we don't we don't get the time you know, as
always to do to get out there and get as
many reps as possible because it's hard. It's really hard
to get those reps and mimic those reps. But we
do a lot of study groups, We do a lot
of you know, just disiminating information as much as possible.
It's getting in the rule. Our rule book is I
(22:38):
should have brought a rule book. I don't know if
you've ever seen an NFL rule, I have not. No,
I should have brought it. You know. It's yeah, I'm bad.
It's it's it's it's thick, it's it's it's big. So
it's it's it's it's a learning curve to kind of
get through that and get through all those plays and
all those rules. So yeah, it's knowing every single rule.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like I know most of them,
but I know there's there's a I feel as good
as I am, there's a ton that I don't know.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
You know.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
The thing I think that's probably crazy is that it's
probably not all about the rules that are so hard
for us because you've been playing football, So it's probably
about the situational stuff that comes up that never comes up,
that is in the rule book from like whatever, and
you're just like, all, I just didn't know, Well, this
is what the ball is put when it's this enforcement part, Yes,
(23:25):
that part enforcement is the other half of it.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
The rules are one thing, but knowing how to enforce
the rules, who gets the ball where, with the clock
and then you're throwing replay yes, which is which is
a growing segment of officiating in the game in general.
And so you've got to put all those pieces together
and X amount of seconds before everybody's what's going on, right,
(23:49):
So it's that when we're huddle up on the field,
that's what we're doing. We're putting those pieces together. I've
seen there's this one black rep that I've seen. He's
a high school dude, and and whenever there's like a
deep pass and there's a long play, he is sprinting.
He is getting Yeah, you still got your speed. I
can still run. But we don't move like that. They
(24:10):
don't want us running like that, okay, because when you're
when you're sprinting like I used to do that in
high school. Used to go out there, I want to
race the players and beat them to the goal line,
you know what I mean? Yeah, hey, I might beat
the rights. When that's when you're a young boy. As
you get older as a player, you don't have to
(24:31):
make as many moves to get in the position to
make a play when you get older. Right right, I
know where this route is going. Same thing as official,
Like we don't want you moving so much, like we
want you to get there and be still watch the play,
see it all. Because when you're running, you're bouncing, you
all over the place and you miss stuff. But so
as you watch older veteran officials, they they don't move
(24:51):
as much. They just get to where they got to
get to see a play. And so that's how you
can tell a young officials real feet everywhere, but old
officials real move. So you're that O G. I'm trying
to get there, trying to get there watching the old cast.
But yeah, you just you just get to the point
where you just you get into position. And so we've
we've but that always we're working on mechanics where sometimes
(25:12):
we're slower, sometimes we're faster, we're deeper, so we're trying
to get to that you know, that sweet spot. But
generally you want to encapsulate the.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Play understood, understood, So now are you a field judge
or a side judge.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
I'm both, I've did I did both. I'm deep wing
on the sidelines. I was fiel judge for a couple
of years. I switched a side judge. It's essentially the same.
Explain that to the viewer right here in your camera.
What is the difference between the field and the side
we know? Right, so the three deeps field judge, back judge,
side judge. We're on the defensive side of the ball,
(25:43):
behind the defense, and we're responsible for the defense. You know,
we're DP I holding, counting the defense. We we got
all that stuff. You don't really see us side the camera.
All side is not us. That's all those guys on
the line judge and line judge headlines. Yes, so I'm deep.
I'm twenty thirty yards twenty twenty five yards off the
line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball
(26:05):
on the sideline. We switch every half, so I start
on the home team or I start on the way
go to home. Right, So we get both sides, both coaches,
and we're looking at receivers, tight ends, all the eligibles.
That's that's where we are. And so we got the
Our game can be very slow, you may not get
a lot of action, and all of a sudden you get,
(26:25):
you know, three deep passes in a row. So we
got the big, big DPI call, which is our biggest call,
probably the biggest call in the game. And so that's
our baby, that's our bread and butter. So we got
to be good with that. We got the punt plays
and all that on the returner. So, but DPI is
that's the one. That's the one that's it's a big foul.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
I'm not gonna take Peanut on his soakebox on this
because he thinks it should only be fifteen yards and
they used and he also believe that if you offensive
foul offensive PI, if it's twenty yards down the field,
the offense should lose twenty This is he's a big thing.
There's a competition committee, you can I am trying to
(27:06):
do that. Trying to do that is what I am
trying to I'm exercising all my contacts. How let your
boy all right, I got one for you, Nate hold on, Okay,
which one.
Speaker 1 (27:19):
Do you prefer? As far as what side or the
only difference is between side and field judge. The side
judge goes behind the ball on field golds, so he's
right there and mixing the field judges underneath the goal post.
You know, one A, one B, they're both I got
you one yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
So what is it like to get the call up
to the NFL? Is it like in the minor leagues
in baseball where you get the call?
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Is it like draft day? Like? What is that call?
What is that like? What is that similar to draft days?
Not just we don't have a you're not looking at
a board and it's not it's similar though, because okay,
you said it's getting back to the league. Yeah, so
it's it's a it's a big call. Yeah, it's it's
probably the second or third biggest phone call I ever got.
(28:06):
Explain that. Take us to that. Yeah, you're because we
get hired around April and May. That's when they hire
NFL officials. So you know, if you're close, but you
have no idea if you're going to get the call out.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
How do you know if you're close, Like you're working
in certain conferences in.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
College or and we have a development program. Okay, but
in college and the NFL they have a development right now.
It's called the MACKI Development program. So you've got guys
that you kind of see that they're looking at You're
going they're going to your bowl games, or scouts looking
at you. I've seen the what was the blonde lady,
she's a oh yeah, she's a line judge, Sarah Sarah. Yeah.
I saw her come up college.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
She was calling my games, saw right, Yeah, working in
the training camp saw for years and now always on
the sideline. So it's like like I take take pride.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
And see her doing the work in ten years now. Yes,
yeah she did well. But it's like that, you know,
if you're in the development program and they're looking at you,
you've got an idea. Okay, not guarantee you just like
in the league, right, but you have an idea. And
how they call who they call and what they're looking
for is that's Troy. That's Troy and the supervisor and
the VP and all that they get together and that's
(29:16):
their decision. But you just kind of know you're one
of maybe twenty they're looking at. Right. And so I
interviewed up in New York first, and then once you interview,
you know you're it could be coming soon. So that's
like the combine the iView process, right, that's right. Okay,
that's right. Okay, I didn't know me either.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
What are the interactions like with the DBS being a
former player, is it is it like respect? Is it
just you cast them not even know?
Speaker 1 (29:44):
That's cool because because typically the head coach and the
teams they study us too, right, absolutely that we definitely
do the free report. Yeah right, love throw oh you
before you get there. And good thing about being a
phone player, I can talk to them how we used
(30:05):
to talk to each other, and I can speak that
language to them, so right away they're like, okay, I
get it, you know. And so I use that to
my advantage when I'm speaking to him trying to get
him calm down or whatever it may be. But it's
usually respect. Yeah, laugh, respect jokes. You know, I've never
had an issue with DB's man, It's just we're cut
from the same class, so we've always I've had no issues.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Nate, how long are you planning to be a referee?
Like I know, you know you don't come across as
the hockey type, I mean, not even as Jack as
he is, So I mean you decent, but like damn,
I mean Hockley bros.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Next level dude, you just shut out. He has a
son now to that I know, right, Yeah, and he's
kind of swoll to. Yeah. Yeah, he's good dude, both
of them. No, I mean the good thing about officiating
is you stay. You stayed apart and do what you
gotta do. You can, you can do it for the
next twenty you know, you can be twenty thirty year. Right,
(31:00):
We'll see how it goes. I'm enjoining, I'm having fun.
Hopefully don't get sick of me.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Yeah, yeah, do you plan on do you you know
you start off at one, then is it like a
certain program or progress to where you become the head?
Speaker 1 (31:15):
That's a good question. I mean they kind of the
white hat we call them. Yes, he's the chees you
can get. You can let them know, Hey, I have
aspirations when they do that.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Yeah, because a lot of guys just stay what they're
doing for a long time as well.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
That's right. I can stay at field judge side judge
for the next twenty years and so be it. But
if I say, hey, you know you have I want
to be a white head over can I look at
you and say yeah or nay? Right? But typically they
bring guys in it, have referee back around from college,
bring them in, work them in, get them used to it,
then make that switch later in their career. So they
kind of have those guys out there working on other
(31:50):
positions already. Yeah, so you know they have whatever five
or ten guys that may they had their eye on, Like, okay,
we know somebody retires, he's read you know what I mean.
So they usually pull it like that. So okay, ready,
I like I likes that go out there and when
when they have to go out and explain what the
flag is and they give a quick commentary, but the
commentary is just like yo flag on seventy five, it
(32:13):
was given ninety seven. The business Like, I do like that.
You like those.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
It's hilarious because it's not traditional. It's not your traditional referee.
Some referees they got like I got a personality, that's right,
that's I kind of I kind of like that.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
I want to know this.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Do you like practice like I know, because you're not
the head guy, so you don't have to announce it everybody. Yeah,
but like in the mirror, you ever like you practice,
you get like you gotta like you practice first out
and practice the field goes correct.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
And more than that, you gotta know your mechanics, how
you look you're right. Also, you know when we throw
our flags, there's there's a we're not just throwing it.
You gotta we got to you gotta get to certain
spots because those flags represent what the foul was there isn't. Yeah,
you got to get to a certain area, okay, the
foul happened there. Also, you want to miss players, right,
we want to hit players, Well, was then time, but
(33:04):
that's that's you know, we don't want to do that.
You gotta you gotta be decent with you. Sometimes you'll
see ificials, we get excited and we start missing it,
and that's that's a fumble for us. Right Like that
looks crazy, but you know you want to be spoons
with it when you get it. Because you do this,
it makes you look nervous.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Please tell me you'll like, oh, you don't know what
you're doing. Please tell me, y'all make fun of each
other from when y'all y'all we got we got to
Yeah your hat, Yeah, you drop the hat just.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Like in meetings with us, you know it's coming that
next week they're gonna get on you right, yeah they should. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
What are your thoughts on the new technology with the
with the football and how how it's being measured and
and things like that. What are you and do you
think it will help?
Speaker 1 (33:49):
The game? Game is so I mean, it's down to
the inch now, right, it's getting so cameras and everybody's watching.
So I think technology can help us. We don't want
to to run the game, right, we don't. We don't.
We don't want to run it, just cameras. At the
same time, technology can help with certain spots and certain
situations where we can't see we can't see everything, so.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
Especially with the way some of the cameras set up,
you literally just can't can't see, right.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
So I think technology can help, and we're embracing it
and we're letting you know, we're trying new things every
year with spots and just getting where the ball should be.
And so I think you're going to see more and
more and more of that as the game as the
years going.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Nate, do you give all these other like the UFL,
do you give them all the credit?
Speaker 1 (34:34):
How much credit do you give them?
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Because they're the they're the trial and their league right now?
Speaker 1 (34:40):
And I hate to say that for the technology, we're.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
The technologies for a lot of the things that the
NFL is like, I think we may adopt that.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
I would have to think that there's some type of
relationship with Hey, we're gonna let y'all try this first,
and if it works, we're gonna pick it up.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Yeah, they've done half to yes, like the quick replays
now they're like, yeah, you don't even.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
Have to go and look at it. We got it. Yeah,
expertitic reviews some of this stuff. And I think fans
love it. I think people's game love it. I think
coaches love it. So try it here, move it on
up and so it works. And actually the UFL is
it's another good training ground for younger officials that are
working their way up to the NFL because a lot
of those guys that work there are you know, getting
looked at. So it's great to have that league around
(35:25):
just push year. Nay, what a question. I mean, it's
a super hard play to officiate. It. It was you
know when they got it's hard about it? Well, it's
I think it's the line up that the guys when
they line up on that line and who's off side
and who's not right because it is it just the
hand in front of the ball, is it not? It's
other than that for us, deep guys, we're trying to
(35:47):
just you know, we're looking for this. Those guys on
the line got a hard job because it's it's it's
you know, forty four hands in there and whose hand
is where? And but the players. I don't mind the play.
I don't mind the play. I don't either by the
letter of the law. From what I was my understanding
of my interpretation, and the law was all about how
(36:07):
you interpret it. You are not supposed to aid the runner,
correct and philosophy thing. We don't want you pulling the runner.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
You can push and push all they for.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Me, No, you have a foul now is pulling or
you actually pick a guy up and walk him in
that's the foul. Everybody get into a scrum and pushing,
that's that's right now, that's fair game. Mm hmmm. So
we can push, we can't. We don't want to pull.
We don't want to lift up, you know, praise, jump
on somebody's shoulders. That's that's foul. Those are fouls. But
(36:50):
a scrum and gosh, everybody in it like that that's
just it's it's too hard to stay consistent on that.
So know that that right now, that's why the pushes
is able to go understood. I'm good, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Yeah, he has an angle. I want to I want
to ask you. We got a couple more minutes. I
want to be able to ask you about somebody who
I think has probably had a really good influence on you,
and that's Greg Ciano.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
Seems like the only coach that can win at Rutgers. Wow,
it hurts, man, but yeah, no, it's go ahead.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
No, I want to what has he meant to you
as a coach, I mean as a player, as a person.
Who was he because I've heard really good stories about
him then I've heard like, you know, when he was
at Tampa, man, he was like brutally hard on guys
and so but at Rutgers he's been successful, right, And
(37:44):
you know, we.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
Know a lot of college coaches. Is tough enough to
make that trans but it is to answer your question. Now,
Greg's been great for Rutgers, for the state of New Jersey.
You know, I'm proud of Rutgers. I'm proud of New Jersey.
Greg Ciano actually sat me down in his office, you know,
that same year before that, and because I was this
guy that was you know, I mean, I'm playing, but
(38:04):
I'm also like I'm going to Wall Street, I'm gonna
go study this finance, and I'm gonna live in New
York right that that's and he actually sat me down
one day. It was like between my sophomore and junior year.
He could tell I was kind of, you know, waffling
and you know flow, just floating through, like you know,
not really appreciating the opportunity. And you know, Greg he
had came from Miami, he came from the Bears, and
he had all his experience, and so he sat me down.
(38:26):
He was the first person to really tell me, like,
you have what it takes to make it. Never heard
that before really, So when you so it's true, when
you tell a kid at that impressionable age that he's
good enough to do something, how that could just you know,
get things going. So he did. He didn't say in
those words, there's a lot more, you know what I mean,
(38:46):
curse and every but but you know, I'm taking internships
at Merrill Lynch and I'm doing things over the summer.
I'm trying to get you. I'm trying to get you
somewhere else, come come back, you know, and so and
so it was. And I have a respect for him
for that. And uh yeah, Greg was good. He was
he was good for me. He was good. He's good
for the program. I'm happy they're still there in the
Big ten. They are so we put good, good players
(39:10):
out every year. We got guys do the NFL. So
I'm happy for Rutgers. Right. So I want to talk
about twenty twelve.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Yeah, it's a show called Jacket, and it's supposed to
be the sports version of Friends.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
And you shot the pilot. Yeah, what happened with it? Man?
I thought I was trying to get in Hollywood, man,
Hollywood finance. Yeah, you just creative. I was a firefighter too, Okay, Yeah,
I did a lot of stuff. Man. You know, actually
when you when you get out of the league, you
kind of go through that period where you're trying to
(39:45):
I was an agent, I was. I was. I was
doing the FBI. I was in that route too, by
the way, I did that, And so I was looking
at everything, you know, secret service. I just you know,
you're trying to find trying to reinvent yourself right to
get to where we are now, because once you the league,
you kind of you got that identity crisis. You're like,
you know, where do I Where do I fit in
society now? Right? And so I tried a lot of things.
(40:06):
I tried a lot of things, and so that was
an experiment in LA and with some people, and it
was cool to kind of see how LA works and
having any auditions and all that. But I quickly learned
that that world is not for me. So that just
got shelved. We'll be right back. One of the questions
we asked all of our guests for people of influence,
(40:28):
people that have helped you, shaped you, mold you to
who you are today from the time you're born till
today right now, who would those four people be? You know?
Shout out to my parents, right, both of them still around,
still together, Love them. Mom and Dad had a height.
I had a pee week coach, mister Patterson. He was
(40:51):
my first football coach when I was young, high school coach.
And then again just just probably the bills parcels and
it's more than four. But I could just keep naming them, man,
because I didn't get here on my own. Yeah, id
to get her on my own. I had a lot
of breaks, had a lot of people vouched for me.
A lot of people buy into me and believe in me.
(41:13):
So I can. I could probably list twenty, but just
those immediate people that had impacts on our lives. The coaches,
the parents, day in day out, take you back and
forth to practice. My grandmother when she couldn't drive at night,
and she drive it real slow picking me up from practice,
and all the cars are behind us, and I'm just
you know those people, man, Yeah, none moments, man, I'm
(41:35):
just like, I problemse. I'm not gonna get mad next
time I'm behind that yeah, yeah, leaving it. Be careful
on man, man, because she might be picking that brands
up for practice. That next star might be in the
car right there, he's right right Manah, there's those people
who I'm getting mad. I'm sorry, I'm getting mad out
the way. So no, it was, it was. It was
those people who I mean just you know, throughout my youth,
(41:58):
high school and college, yeah, careers, and then yeah, they
just they just bought in. So I appreciate them. Yeah. Yeah,
last one I got for you. You what I'm alan? I
some diamond ear rings and when you be officiating. Yeah,
you know, I don't think nobody out there linging boy,
Nate man.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
I got to ask this before I give you all
your flowers too. You're traveler, yeah all right, you're you're
not married?
Speaker 1 (42:24):
No? Do you have kids? No? No kids? Not married?
You should travel? All right? I love it. You've been
to how many countries? Eighty eighty five?
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Ninety five? Now that article was older, yes, all right,
oh yeah, so all right, ninety five countries.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
Yeah. I can't even ask for a top five.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
But where where would you say, you know, for all
of our I guess single listeners out there. I guess
I can ask married listeners next. But you you you're
not even looking at that. Let's just give me your
five places that we should go.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
I mean, I think single or marriage everybody. Yeah, good,
stay out of trouble with that one. So you got
to you got them. I'm not gonna get in, So
go ahead. I think the Mediterranean region is just my favorite.
You've been there, Yeah, we've been there. Yeah, we've been
south South South Africa, south of France. Yeah, the food,
(43:21):
the vibe, everything over there. I just got back from Dubai.
If you've never been there. That's from a travel right. So,
and then you know in Africa, which is a contint
I need to get to more of. But you say,
you got to Egypt and South Africa and just being
out there. I'm trying to get the Kenya this year.
Was there in December. Yeah, okay, amazing, good. Yeah, I
(43:42):
want to check that off the list. So some of
these places in that part of the world is just
you got to go to Ghana too, Yeah, yeah, Ghana. Uh,
but those are those are some. And then you got Japan,
which was my first My first big trip was to
Japan and I was like in the league, like twenty
two years old, and so that's that vibe over there
and just the cold shu. They really preserved their culture there,
(44:02):
really kind of friendly to Americans. And so I've been
to some crazy places too, as far as I've been
a Haiti on a mission trip, which is probably the
most dangerous place I've ever been. You know, just out
there and you know that it's it's still pretty dangerous.
And so I kind of covered the whole gambit. But
I really love the Mediterranean region the most. The food,
(44:25):
the culture, of the vibe is just it's incredible.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
I'm still amazed that Japan is one of the only
places to never be colonized.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
It's one of the only few countries I've never been.
That's why they preserved their culture.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
That is exactly why I love that they have fully
bought in being self depended all the time, because they
understand that part of it. Super interesting, Nate Man, Man, dude,
great job. We could sit up here and talk and
I know Peanut would just fire more and more officiating
questions at you, but we'll try to do that off camera.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
Man number thirty three on the field right here too,
to number thirty three on the field. That's referee, right.
Speaker 2 (45:04):
I'll be looking for you now because I guess that's
how we got to try and record easy Easy.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
On one of your own is down there. Make it
easy on them, all right.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
We will, man, dude. And uh, I know you guys
keep your hats on so you try and stay out
of the way, all right. Man, Thanks for pouring into us, bro.
That was awesome. I really really enjoyed your story, your journey.
Like I said before, you are first and so hopefully
you won't be our last, and that we'll have to
have this coming up yeah. Yeah, it's not only that,
but dude, come back, yeah, come back. We can pat
(45:35):
it more so and you can give us more and
more stories. Man, So thank you for that. You want
to say anything before I get us out of here?
Speaker 1 (45:41):
Now you got it?
Speaker 2 (45:41):
I got it baby coming and pouring into us the
gout man. For all of our viewers and listeners out there,
wherever you pick up your podcast whereas iHeartRadio Apple podcasts,
give us a five star rating review, click that follow button,
leave a couple of comments and read them for you.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
Yeah, absolutely try to read.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
Check us out on the NFL YouTube channel we go man,
tell a friend to tell a friend to do what Peanut?
Speaker 1 (46:02):
Check us out, baby, Peanut, get us out of here, man,
I'm Peanut Nate Rome. This is the NFL Player's second
XT podcast, Way Out.
Hosts And Creators
Charles “Peanut” Tillman
Roman Harper
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