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He held the door for her. “Agreed. But with the NFL refs supervising in the booth, my guess is that they don’t want any controversy.”
“Reviewed plays are always controversial. When I was officiating for the NCAA, over ninety percent of our plays weren’t reviewed. But the ones that were were almost always upheld.”
“Didn’t you officiate a bowl game?”
She glanced at him, stilled. Wait—did he… But Zach just kept walking, not a hint that he knew— Breathe. “No. It was an All-Star game. The Senior Bowl.”
“I heard that the NFL is on the hunt for better substitute officials. Maybe they’re scouting.”
She stilled in the hallway. “Really?”
“Why not? There are still people angry about the games played during the 2012 lockout—remember the Green Bay, Seahawks game?”
“The double caught pass? I watched it with my dad. Golden Tate totally pushed the Packer cornerback—I saw it even before the replay. Should have been offensive pass interference, Packer’s victory.” She walked down the hall to the official’s office. “I think it’s what led to the end of the lockout.”
“The NFL has a new program to help non-NFL officials be ready for the show.”
“I know. The Mackie Development Program.” She reached the office door, where Yannick leaned against the front of a desk, working the remote for the flatscreen. “I’m not interested.”
She left Zach standing in the hallway, maybe a little undone by her words.
She, herself, couldn’t believe they’d issued from her mouth. But maybe his reference to the All-Star game had raked up a knee-jerk response.
Because really, who didn’t want to officiate an NFL game?
“I just wanted to run over a couple last minute formations the Berlin Thunder sent me,” Yannick said as they came in. She sat on a chair in the cramped room, still holding her hat.
“They’re going to run the single back formation. Watch for the running back—he’s about five yards behind the QB.” Yannick looked at Iris as he said it. “It’s a wide-receiver play, but look for the RB coming around behind you.”
She gave him a thumbs-up.
“And, Zach, you’ll remember this one. The pro set—the Vikings might run that. It’s a pass-heavy set, so you might see a lot of activity. And Milos and Arne, keep an eye on the D-backs and corners for holding and defensive pass interference near the line of scrimmage.”
He fast-forwarded the tape, paused it. “The Vikings are probably going to stay with the 5-2 defense, but keep an eye out for the occasional blitz. And since the Vikings are heavy on the passing game, look for the 3-3 stack from the Thunder. That’s a lot of one-on-one on the line, so that’s you again, Iris.”
He stopped the tape. “This might be a fast game, a lot of passing plays with these two quarterbacks. The Ernst-Bly connection is hot, given what I’ve seen in practice, so keep on eyes on the Thunder’s safety.”
Zach nodded, as did Roque and Jakub.
“Zero mistakes. Stay safe. Let’s get out there,” Yannick said, and the crew got up. Iris put on her hat, pulling her ponytail through the hole.
“Iris, stick around for a second.”
Zach glanced at her, an eyebrow up as he left. But he closed the door behind him.
“If this is about the—”
“Coach Clay called me. Apparently, Hudson Bly is trying to get ahold of you.”
“—scouting, my mind is on this game. Wait, what?”
His mouth opened. “You know about the scouting?”
“Guessed. What does Bly want?” And shoot, even his name lit something inside her. No, no—focus.
“Dunno. Coach just said that Bly wants to talk to you before the game.”
“Nope. I got a job to do.” She picked up her water bottle. “Whatever he has to say can wait.”
