Bills’ McDermott hires former NFL referee John Parry: AP source

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott is getting help with his red-challenge decisions by adding former NFL official John Parry to his staff, a person confirmed informed of the hiring to The Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the decision. Buffalo’s hiring of Parry to the role of liaison officer was first reported by the New York Post.

While most networks have hired former officials to provide penalty analysis, the Bills would be among the first NFL teams to add one to their roster.

Parry spent 19 years as an NFL official, including his final 12 years as a referee before retiring after appearing in his third Super Bowl to close out the 2018 season. He then spent the last five years as a rules analyst for ESPN.

Parry fills a role for the first time for the Bills and McDermott, who enters his eighth season as coach.

McDermott was successful in three of six challenges last season, but has an overall record of just 10 of 33 canceled games, including the playoffs, according to Pro Football Reference. By comparison, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid completed four of five challenges last season and is 72 of 143 overall.

Knowledge of Parry’s rules can also help in late game time management situations by indicating when it is best to call timeouts when dealing with penalties as well as other rule changes introduced by the league.

Parry’s hiring comes after McDermott was added to the NFL rules committee in March.