Ed Hochuli, jacked lawyer and NFL referee, has retired from officiating, ESPN reports. Referee Jeff Triplette also retired.
Hochuli, who is arguably the best officiant in sports at 67 years old, will be replaced by his son, Shawn Hochuli, who was a back judge previously, and is considerably less ripped than his dad. The announcement was made in a tweet by Al Riveron, senior vice president of officiating for the NFL.
Congratulations to our 2 newest @NFL referees, former BJ Shawn Hochuli & former SJ Alex Kemp. Best wishes to our 2 retiring referees, Ed Hochuli & Jeff Triplette. pic.twitter.com/iEv6xOprkf
— Al Riveron (@alriveron) March 6, 2018
But don’t worry, if you’re going to miss Hochuli’s colossal guns and extensive explanations for calls, he’s going to remain on as an independent consultant to the NFL competition committee. Hopefully that means he will get a contract with CBS, FOX, ESPN or NBC to be a regular consultant.
Still, Hochuli’s absence on the field is certain to be missed. He’s been officiating since 1990, and was the second longest tenured referee in the league, in second place by only one year.
I can only wonder what Hochuli will do with his extra free time now that he’s retired, but I think it’s fair to speculate he’ll be hitting the gym more often. One thing’s for sure, the NFL should retire his referee number, 85, out of respect for his lengthy career.