Bill Vinovich Named Head Referee for Super Bowl 54

Bill Vinovich will be the referee for Super Bowl 54 at Hard Rock Stadium on Feb. 2.

Cameron Filipe of Football Zebras first reported the news.

This will be the second title game for the veteran, who was also the referee at Super Bowl 49 between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks after the 2014 season.

Vinovich has spent 14 years as an official in the NFL, including 11 as a referee.

The Super Bowl will be Vinovich's second game this postseason after he worked the Tennessee Titans' divisional-round upset over the Baltimore Ravens last Saturday. 

Vinovich has worked 13 playoff games in his career but was most notably in charge of the crew during last year's NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. A non-call on an obvious pass interference during that contest led to a rule change in 2019 that allowed those types of calls to be reviewed.

Saints receiver Michael Thomas had a few thoughts about the decision.

Still, his consistency as an official helped him top ESPN's Kevin Seifert's list of the best referees in the NFL last August.

"His crews usually average the fewest penalties per game in the league, producing crisp games with maximum focus on players and coaches," Seifert wrote.

Vinovich's crews averaged 11.63 penalties per game in 2019, below the league average of 13.4, per Pro Football Reference.