NFL moves umpires into offensive backfield as safety measure 

Posted March 21, 2010 @ 1:19 p.m.
By PFW staff

The NFL will move the position of umpires, who were at risk in the middle of the field, from the current position to the offensive backfield, ESPN.com and CNNSI.com are reporting.

The umpires were vulnerable in the middle of the action, being knocked down more than 100 times last season, which moved outgoing vice president of officiating Mike Pereira and his successor, Carl Johnson, to make the change. Although it does not require ownership approval, it can be overruled by commissioner Roger Goodell.

In their old position, in front of the linebackers and behind the defensive line, the umpires not only were hit often in the high-traffic areas but also were vulnerable to serious injury, Pereira said.

The move, which reportedly was unanimously supported by the competition committee, is expected to be announced officially this week and take place immediately in games this season.

So if the ump is in the offensive backfield, where is the ref going to be?

"Wade" wrote:

As the umpire is situated where much of the play's initial action occurs, he is considered to hold the most dangerous officiating position.[7] For this reason, the NFL carried out experiments in the 2001 preseason with the umpire placed in the offensive backfield adjacent to the referee.[8]