Rules analyst John Parry will leave ESPN for a job in the National Football League.
Football Zebras reported that Parry, who has been a rules analyst for the network since 2019, will reportedly join an NFL team as an officiating liaison.
“Parry had a year remaining on his contract, but the parting was amicable,” Football Zebras said.
According to the report, Parry’s new job will be to “advise the team’s coaching staff on rules matters and replay decisions.”
Parry replaced former NFL official Jeff Triplette on ESPN as the network’s rules analyst in 2019. His career in the NFL officiating realm dates back to 1999 when the league hired him as a replay official. He officiated three Super Bowls, working as a side judge at Super Bowl XLI and then as a referee at XLVI and LIII.
Parry indicated that part of the reason for the decision is that he misses “being in the game.”
“I’m hoping that this provides an opportunity to get back in the arena, challenges, wins and losses, all those feelings that you have from doing what we do,” Parry was quoted as saying.
ESPN has reportedly not tabbed a replacement for Parry yet. But they are reportedly rummaging for one, and they will likely fill that position well before the 2024 NFL season begins in September.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022