Commissioner Goodell backs ruling in KC-BUF game: 'It was absolutely the right call'

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke with reporters on Wednesday at the conclusion of the December League Meeting in Irving, Texas, and addressed recent complaints regarding the league’s officiating.

Goodell specifically was asked about the ending of Sunday’s game between the Bills and Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium when Chiefs receiver Kadarius Toney was ruled offside, negating what would have been a go-ahead touchdown for Kansas City in the final minutes of the Chiefs’ 20-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

After Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid initially expressed displeasure with the ruling, but both walked back their initial criticism, acknowledging officials got the call right. Goodell agreed when asked about the current state of officiating in the NFL and how it applied to that specific call.

“I find it a little ironic when you say attention on officiating when I think almost everybody, to my knowledge, is acknowledging that the officials were absolutely correct,” Goodell said on Wednesday. “That’s their job to call when there’s a foul. There was no question about that foul. It was absolutely the right call. If you don’t call that, obviously we would’ve been subject or our officials would’ve been subject to criticism also.

“We all understand our officials are second guessed. I’ve said it many times before, they are not perfect. No human being is. But the reality is they do an extraordinary job. As I said, I find it ironic that I’m standing here answering a question about the officials got it right, and they’re being criticized. I think it shows you how difficult it is to do their job. I understand that and understand it comes with the job. The officials understand that, but I’m incredibly proud of — not just what they did in that game, but also what they continue to do.”

Goodell was asked if the league needs to implement more technology to aid its officials.

“I think we have. I think you’ve seen evolutions of that,” he said. “And some of it is because the coaches or the ownership or the general managers, the league in general wants to make sure that technology is going to be used properly. We’ve worked really hard to try to institute that.

“As an example, we do the quick reviews now, and I think that’s made a big difference. It’s at a higher level than it’s ever been. I think it’s not only got the call right quicker, it’s avoiding challenges. And it’s also sped the game up, which is important.

“I think we’ll continue to do that and I see using that technology more often. You’re absolutely right on the core issue, which is, ultimately, we’re seeing things we were never able to see before. The fans are seeing that. As a result of that, it makes their job harder. I’ve said that for years. But they understand that. But one of the things I think is really important, is how many times it shows that they’re right. I think it’s extraordinary, actually.”

Officiating was not the only topic Goodell addressed during his Wednesday news conference.

The Commissioner responded to a question regarding the NFL’s continued efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within its most prominent ranks:

“No. I don’t think we’ve ever done enough. We’ve said this before, DEI and the efforts to make our league more diverse will only make our league better. We saw it today. We saw it over the last couple of days. Incredible talent. Incredible people are making our league better today and will continue to grow and will continue to move into positions — general managers, head coaches. They obviously weren’t here today, the head coaches, but we see that talent across the league. I think that’s fundamental to who we are. Diversity is fundamental to who we are, and I think we all see the benefits of that and the importance of doing that right.”

• On the possibilities of having a female general manager in the NFL, and what it would mean for the league:

“I think it’d be fantastic. We had several women that participated in the Accelerator program. We have a lot of people, and we have one teammate in our office who I think certainly could be a general manager. I believe that that day will come, and it will come soon.”

• On what will encourage the hiring of a woman (or women) as general manager(s):

“I think the No. 1 thing, it goes back to talent meeting opportunity. The talent is there. And the talent is getting better. They’re participating in programs like this. There’s only 32 of those positions. The turnover isn’t quite as great there as it is in coaching. But I think those candidates are ready, and I think it’s just going to be meeting the two of those.”

• On the hip-drop tackle technique:

“Hip drop, I would tell you, I think we all should work to get that out of the game. You see it escalated in the number of times it occurred this season. The injury can be very devastating. We saw that also. It’s not just happening at the NFL level. It’s also happening at other levels. (It’s) something I feel like we’ve got to work very hard to get that removed this spring.”