Dalton Walker
ICT
PHOENIX — Thirty years ago in small town Oklahoma, a young Cherokee Nation man named Jerod Phillips was officiating a little league football game in the pouring rain.
“I remember the first game I ever did, it was raining so hard that you couldn’t even see the other side of the field but we continued to play,” Phillips, 48, recalled.
The first game was in Jay, Oklahoma, not long after Phillips finished high school. His next game won’t have rain, it won’t be in Oklahoma and the players wearing football pads are among the best in the game.
Phillips is a member of the officiating crew assigned to Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Super Bowl assignments are awarded to the top officials at each position.
Come gameday, Phillips will likely be the first Cherokee Nation citizen to officiate a Super Bowl.
“The Cherokee Nation is extremely proud of Jerod for becoming the first official to represent the tribe in a Super Bowl. This is one of many accomplishments he has already garnered in an outstanding professional career,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., said in a statement.
Phillips lives in Oklahoma where he’s an elementary school teacher and basketball coach when he’s not traveling across the country to work NFL games. He has officiated in the NFL for nearly 10 years and before that he worked at the college football level.
Phillips wasn’t available for comment this week, but the media relations with the NFL Referees Association shared a short video with ICT of Phillips answering questions.
“It’s really hard to put into words what the Super Bowl means to me and this assignment,” he said. “I think it can best be summed up with after finding out that you been assigned for the Super Bowl, you pick up the phone and you immediately call those individuals responsible for you being here and played such a huge role, not only in the past but the present in enjoying this success.”
One of his first phone calls was to his wife and another was to his mother, Phillips said.
Phillips will be one of three Native men from Oklahoma in Sunday’s game, but the only one not wearing a football helmet. James Winchester, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and Creed Humphrey, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, play for Kansas City.
“Football has been very impactful in my life,” he said. “Every year that has gone by over the past 30 years, football has been there. It’s in every aspect of my life. It’s in my personal life, it’s in my family life, it’s in my professional life. And I hope that one makes me better at the other.”
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Phillips will be one of seven NFL officials on the field. The eighth is a video replay official. Of the eight, five have Super Bowl officiating experience.
Each official on the field has a specific role that could come off as complicated for a football rule beginner.
Phillips duties as a down judge calls for him to be on the sideline opposite of the line judge looking directly at the line of scrimmage. He directs the chain crew, rules on sideline plays in his area and keeps a close eye on potential penalties related to down linemen and standing receivers, among other duties.
He’ll be wearing a black hat with the letter “DJ” on the back and more than likely will be visible on TV often as the camera tends to focus on the line of scrimmage.
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Now comes the pressure for Phillips and his crew.
Mike Pereira knows the pressure Carl Cheffers and his officiating crew will be under during the Super Bowl.
That’s because he either hired or promoted most of them.
As the NFL’s vice president of officiating in 2008, Pereira promoted Cheffers from side judge to referee. After 14 years with the league, Pereira retired and joined Fox in 2010 as a rules analyst.
“I have always felt you are remembered by your performance in the Super Bowl,” Pereira said. “There’s no doubt that each of those guys on the field feels the pressure. I think every official likes a challenge.”
Super Bowl officiating crew:
Referee: Carl Cheffers
Umpire: Roy Ellison
Down Judge: Jerod Phillips
Line Judge: Jeff Bergman
Field Judge: John Jenkins
Side Judge: Eugene Hall
Back Judge: Dino Paganelli
Replay Official: Mark Butterworth
Dacoda McDowell-Wahpekeche and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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