Former NFL referee, ESPN rules analyst joins Bills in new role

Former NFL referee and Monday Night Football rules analyst John Parry has accepted a position with the Buffalo Bills, per Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post. Parry joins the organization as an “officiating liaison,” a new role created for the longtime official.

Parry was an NFL referee from 2007 to 2019, serving on three Super Bowl officiating crews throughout his NFL career and as the head referee of Super Bowl XLVI and Super Bowl LIII. He retired after Super Bowl LIII and joined ESPN as the Monday Night Football rules analyst; he told Football Zebras of his decision to depart the network last week, telling the website that his forthcoming new role with a (then unknown) NFL team would see him “advise the coaching staff of the team on rules matters and replay decisions.”

He’ll essentially serve as an extra set of eyes and mind for the coaching staff to consult in-game, a natural extension of the group manned by a head coach who frequently speaks about the importance of gathering as much information and context as possible in Sean McDermott. Buffalo finished ninth in the league last season in total flags with 130; the presence of Parry won’t necessarily help the Bills take fewer penalties, but it will help the coaching staff react to and deal with them in more informed ways.

“There’s so much on the shoulders of coaches as it pertains specifically to replay because it’s grown so much and it is complicated," Parry told Football Zebras. "It’s hard to keep all of that data straight. And I think there’s value to having — I mean, obviously if you’re working for a team, you want to win — but your job is to ensure that they have all the data that they can make the appropriate decision or the decision they want.”

Parry, per Football Zebras, got his start in officiating as a replay official in 1999. This is his first time working for an NFL club directly.

ESPN has not yet named a replacement as Monday Night Football rules analyst.