Sean Payton thinks the NFL is headed toward a much more open era when it comes to officiating, and he believes the league will borrow a page from the UFL.
The Broncos head coach said he expects NFL officials to be mic’d up during reviews and for fans to hear the conversations that shape those decisions. In his view, that kind of transparency is already proving useful elsewhere, and he sees the NFL following suit soon.
“And I think every once in a while the benefit of this other league we have, I think quite honestly it’s been helpful for our league,” Payton recently told Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom.com. “Every once in a while you see something you like, and I think Dean Blandino and his crew, when we kick live right to the booth review, I think that’s healthy. And I think you’ll see that in the next two or three years in our league.”
Payton also pointed to the broader direction of the sport, saying changes in media coverage and sports gambling make more openness feel inevitable.
“I definitely think you’ll see that coming,” Payton said. “I think it’s healthy, and it’s certainly comforting for the fan when you can see how they arrive at decisions. And I think it’s fair, especially to the officials and the people doing the review, to see what we arrived at.”
For Payton, the issue isn’t just about improving officiating itself. It’s about making the process easier to follow. He believes the NFL will eventually move closer to the UFL model, and he’s predicting that shift could arrive within the next two or three years.
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