Longtime NFL senior VP of officiating Walt Anderson transitioning to new role

Longtime NFL senior vice president of officiating Walt Anderson is transitioning to a new role as NFL rules analyst and club communications liaison, the league announced Thursday.

Anderson, 71, was an on-field official from 1996 through 2019 before moving into his role as senior VP.

A replacement for Anderson has not yet been announced. Along with the dispatch of Anderson’s positional change, the league announced his son Derek as one of five new NFL officials for the 2024 season.

“Our entire family is very proud of Derek’s outstanding career as a college football official,” Walt Anderson’s statement read, in full. “We are excited to see him have the opportunity to contribute as an official at the NFL level. With Derek’s promotion, I expect to begin the process of transitioning to a new role as an NFL Rules Analyst & Club Communications Liaison, where I will focus on communicating with the clubs during the week and with our broadcast partners on gamedays. While I will no longer be making officiating decisions, together with a variety of stakeholders I will continue to look for new and better ways to promote excellence in officiating performance. I welcome this challenge and look forward to the opportunity to support the men and women who do such a tremendous job officiating our game at every level.”

Derek Anderson, along with Jeff Hutcheon, Brian Perry and Robert Richeson were announced as new line of scrimmage officials for the 2024 campaign, while Karina Tovar was announced as a new downfield official.