I hear the "full-time" argument a lot, but I just don't think it would lead to much improvement.
The only way you get better at officiating is by seeing more snaps, and by the time you get to the NFL, you've seen plenty of those. The officials already study film and the rules during the week, and the scrutiny officials have been under in the NFL postseason have nothing to do with knowledge of the rules; most complaints I've heard have been for judgment calls, which aren't going to change with more study.
Also, it might be hard to get/keep officials if they went full time. NFL officials are already under a lot of scrutiny and can be out of a job quickly if they don't rank well. The lack of job security would certainly make anyone think twice about quitting their real job to officiate full time. Heck, you might be hard-pressed to find someone who *wants* to officiate full-time. I enjoy officating, but I can't imagine doing it or working on it every day; it's fun, but not as rewarding to me as a real career.
|