First woman Super Bowl official chosen
Sarah Thomas will cap her sixth NFL season by becoming the first female to officiate the Super Bowl in NFL history.
Thomas, a down judge, is part of the officiating crew announced Tuesday by the NFL.
“Sarah Thomas has made history again as the first female Super Bowl official,” said Troy Vincent, Sr., the NFL’s executive vice resident of football operations. “Her elite performance and commitment to excellence has earned her the right to officiate the Super Bowl. Congratulations to Sarah on this well-deserved honor.”
Referee Carl Cheffers will lead the seven-person crew of on-field game officials for the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 at
Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Cheffers has been a game official for 21 seasons in the NFL and was promoted to referee in 2008. He has worked 17 playoff games, including the Super Bowl in 2017.
The crew includes umpire Fred Bryan, line judge Rusty Baynes, field judge James Coleman, side judge Eugene Hall, back judge Dino Paganelli and replay official Mike Wimmer. The crew has 88 years of NFL experience with 77 combined playoff games.
This will be the first Super Bowl for Coleman as well as Thomas and second for Cheffers, Bryan, Baynes, Hall and Paganelli.
Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons named Terry Fontenot the
team’s first Black general manager, finding new leadership from within their division.
Fontenot, 40, spent 18 seasons with NFC South rival New Orleans.
Fontenot helped build a consistent winner as vice president and assistant
general manager in charge of pro personnel for the Saints.
The Falcons fired general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn following a 0-5 start this season, which led to a 4-12 finish, Atlanta’s third consecutive losing season.
The Falcons signed Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as their head coach on Saturday, a day after agreeing to terms.
Atlanta held a virtual interview with Fontenot on Jan. 6 but could not meet with him in person while New Orleans was in the playoffs. The Saints were eliminated in Sunday’s 30-20 loss to Tampa Bay, clearing the way for Atlanta to hire Fontenot.
Fontenot was hired by New Orleans as a a marketing intern. He moved to the scouting department and worked his way up from intern to pro scout before he was named assistant GM.
Ravens
Three-time Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram has been released by Baltimore, who used the 10-year veteran as a starter for the first seven games this season before dropping him deep on the depth chart. Ingram, 31, was on the inactive list for four of Baltimore’s last five games, including playoff matchups against Tennessee and Buffalo. He finished with 299 yards on a careerlow 72 carries. By the time Ingram sprained an ankle in a 30-28 win Oct,. 18 at Philadelphia, the Ravens had already been providing most of the carries to Gus Edwards and rookie J.K. Dobbins. Ingram returned Nov. 15 and received only 22 carries the rest of the way. Ingram was signed by Baltimore as a free agent in March 2019 after playing eight years with New Orleans.