The New England Patriots will see a familiar face head the officiating crew in Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks. Shaun Smith, who already called two of their games this season, has been announced
by the NFL as referee for the title game on Sunday.
Officiating website Football Zebras had to say the following about Smith:
This will be Smith’s first on-field Super Bowl assignment. He was the alternate referee for Super Bowls LV and LVIII.
This is Smith’s 11th postseason assignment, including 5 Wild Card Playoffs, 3 Divisional Playoffs and 2 Conference Championships. His first Conference Championship came in his third season — the earliest possible under assignment rules at the time — and he has been assigned to at least one playoff game every year he was eligible. (First-year officials and referees in their first season are ineligible.)
Smith is in his 11th season and 8th as referee.
Smith became a referee in 2018, and has since called nine New England games. They are 5-4 in those contests, including a perfect 2-0 in games officiated by him this season.
The first of those games took place in Week 13 and saw the Patriots beat the New York Giants with a final score of 33-15. That day, New England’s players were flagged four times in front of their home crowd, with the three penalties that were accepted costing them 30 yards of field position. The Giants were penalized on five occasions losing 30 yards on four accepted calls.
Patriots and Smith then crossed paths in the divisional round. Beating the Houston Texans 28-16, they committed three penalties for 48 yards. Houston was flagged five times, with four of the penalties accepted for a loss of 32 yards.
Overall, the Super Bowl will be Smith’s 18th game this season. In the first 17, none of which featuring the Seahawks, he threw 201 accepted flags as well as 36 that were either offsetting or declined. His most-called infractions this season are false start (36+0), offensive holding (29+5) and defensive pass interference (23+3); he called three DPIs in the divisional round.
The full crew for Sunday’s game, which as usual for the postseason is an all-star ensemble, looks as follows (original crew of each member in parenthesis):
R 14 Shawn Smith
U 81 Roy Ellison (Adrian Hill)
DJ 8 Dana McKenzie (Alex Moore)
LJ 10 Julian Mapp (Adrian Hill)
FJ 72 Jason Ledet (Shawn Hochuli)
SJ 103 Eugene Hall (Carl Cheffers)
BJ 27 Greg Steed (Adrian Hill)
Replay official: Andrew Lambert
Replay assistant: Julie Johnson
Alternates: Shawn Hochuli (R), Terry Killen (U), David Oliver (DJ), Tom Eaton (LJ), Jabir Walker (FJ), Anthony Jeffries (SJ), Brad Freeman (BJ), Chad Adams (RO)
Compared to the divisional round, the officiating crew changed in two spots. Roy Ellison will replace Scott Walker as umpire, with Greg Steed filling the back judge role previously occupied by Grantis Bell.
Kickoff between the Patriots and Seahawks at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
