Mike Pereira
Mike Pereira | |
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official (2022–present) |
Mike Pereira (born April 13, 1950)
Officiating career
Before working in the NFL, Pereira spent 14 years officiating college football games, with nine years in the Big West Conference (1982–90) followed by five years in the Western Athletic Conference (1991–95).[3] Pereira moved up to the NFL for two seasons (1996 and 1997) as a side judge on the officiating crew headed by referee Mike Carey.[4] He wore uniform number 77, later worn by three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay, and now worn by Terry Killens. While working for the NFL, Pereira served as supervisor of officials for the Western Athletic Conference.[3]
In 1998, Pereira was promoted to NFL supervisor of officiating. In 2001 Pereira became Director of Officiating for the NFL, succeeding Jerry Seeman, and then was promoted to Vice President of Officiating in 2004. Pereira retired from the NFL after the 2009 season.[5]
From February to June 2011, Pereira was the
Pereira was an officiating consultant for the Alliance of American Football,[8] which began play in February 2019 and ended in April of the same year.
Pereira is currently the VP of Officiating for the United Football League.
Media career
As VP of Officiating, Pereira appeared on the NFL Network show NFL Total Access during the "Official Review" segment, to discuss key calls made during the previous week's games with host Rich Eisen every Wednesday during the season.
In June 2010, it was announced that Pereira would be joining
In 2012, Sports Illustrated named Pereira as one of the NFL's most indispensable broadcasting talents, saying, "Viewers have longed for broadcasters to provide accurate explanations from the NFL's Byzantine rule book, and Pereira, thankfully, has taken the burden off ex-jocks and announcers".[11] Michael Hiestand of USA Today wrote that "after Fox's groundbreaking move to put the ex-NFL vice president of officiating on-air, Pereira proved to be a candid voice — not a shill for the almighty NFL".[12] However, Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times wrote that "Pereira has assumed the role of the overzealous defense attorney ... his appearances generally conclude with him concluding that the referees have gotten it right yet again ... Analyst is the title that FOX hangs on Pereira, but advocate is more appropriate".[13]
Pereira also sparked coverage by others in the media when he criticized the commentary of Monday Night Football announcer Jon Gruden, calling him out as a "blowhard ... who spouts off when he doesn't know what he's talking about".[14] Pereira specifically felt that Gruden "butchered" the analysis of two defenseless receiver plays during the telecast of an Atlanta Falcons-New Orleans Saints game.[15][16] However, Doug Farrar of Yahoo! Sports thought that Pereira should have instead taken the higher road, and Fox should "lay down the law to Pereira [and] needs to be told to put the agendas away".[17]
Pereira's success led Fox in 2015 to adopt
Personal life
Pereira was born to Al and Lydia Pereira and grew up in Stockton, California[10] along with his older sister Linda.[19] Al was a head linesman with the Pacific Coast Athletic Association and Mike Pereira credits his father with teaching him football.[19] He played baseball for Santa Clara University from 1970–72 and graduated with a degree in Finance.[3] In his 30s, Pereira opened a golf equipment and athletic shoe store with his parents, though they had divorced each other by that time.[19]
Pereira lives in
Pereira is heavily involved in Battlefields to Ballfields, a charitable organization dedicated to retiring or returning veterans that aspire to become sports referees.[21]
Pereira is a two time cancer survivor: in 1975, Pereira was diagnosed with
He is of Portuguese descent.[3]
References
- ^ "NFL Director of Officiating Mike Pereira". Officiating.com. August 2, 2001. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ TechKee Admin (October 11, 2019). "Gus Johnson Not Sure If It's Hot In Here Or Just Him, Can't Stop Admiring Beefy Referee's Arms". TechKee. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mike Pereira Joins Fox Sports As NFL Rules Analyst" (PDF). Fox Sports (Press release). June 28, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ "NFL OFFICIATING CREWS SINCE 1994". Behind the Football Stripes. Retrieved August 4, 2006.
- ^ "Mike Pereira retiring as NFL officiating chief". The Associated Press. ESPN.com. January 18, 2009.
- ^ Condotta, Bob (February 11, 2011). "Pac-10 announces changes to football officiating program". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
- ^ Miller, Ted (June 6, 2011). "Pac-12 hires new officiating coordinator". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
- ^ "Leadership". aaf.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
- ^ Dougherty, Pete (September 11, 2014). "As rules analyst, Pereira brings insight to telecasts". Albany Times Union.
- ^ a b Highfill, Bob (February 2, 2014). "Officially a TV star". The Record (Stockton, California).
- ^ Deitsch, Richard (January 11, 2012). "NFL's most indispensable broadcasting talents". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Most Popular E-mail Newsletter". USA Today. December 30, 2011.
- ^ O'Neil, Danny (December 31, 2011). "FOX Sports NFL officiating analyst needs to call it both ways". The Seattle Times.
- ^ Boren, Cindy (December 29, 2011). "Stats, scores and schedules". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Pereira: Gruden is a "blowhard" | ProFootballTalk". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. December 29, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ "Pereira rips 'blowhard' Gruden for commentary on illegal hits". NFL.com. December 29, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ Farrar, Doug. "Pereira's rip job on Gruden just one more reason he can't be trusted - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- ^ Washburn, Mark (January 15, 2016). "Television analyst Mike Pereira is with you on referee lapses". The Charlotte Observer.
- ^ a b c d e f Stern, Jeffery (March 2010). "Open Mike" (PDF). Referee Magazine. Referee Enterprises Inc. National Association of Sports Officials. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ Farmer, Sam (June 27, 2010). "Fox Sports hires former NFL top ref Mike Pereira". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Pereira, Mike (February 6, 2018). "Mike Pereira discusses how he got veterans involved with officiating". The Sacramento Bee.