Technically speaking, Hayes is a side judge, whose position is always 23 yards downfield from the snap of the football. It’s one of seven referee positions on the field.
Once the ball is snapped, Hayes can wind up just about anywhere, moving with the play as he keeps an eye on fouls, whether it’s illegal hands to the face, offensive or defensive holding, pass interference or illegal contact.
Hayes officiated in the 2002 and 2004 Super Bowls, both of which the New England Patriots won on last-second field goals.
For him, those Super Bowls were “pretty intense” and “nerve-racking.”
“But let me tell you, I felt so privileged to be there,” he said.
As for Sunday’s Super Bowl, which Hayes will be watching from the comfort of his couch, he has this word of advice to fellow referees:
“Let the teams play the game. Try not to get too technical. Call the fouls that really make a difference,” said Hayes, 60, as he stood outside the OCC gym Thursday. “They say that the best-officiated games are the ones where you forget that the officials were even there by the time the game is over.”
Never truer words spoken from the Santa Barbara native, a graduate of San Marcos High School, where he played baseball, football and basketball before setting his sights on becoming a baseball catcher for Princeton University, where he majored in politics.
He went on to attend UCLA for graduate school, where he earned a master’s degree and doctorate in higher education, which helped him land his first — and, most likely, last — instructor’s gig at Orange Coast College in 1976.
