Phil Luckett was an official in the National Football League (1991-2005, 2007). His officiating uniform number was 59. He entered the NFL as a field judge in 1991, then became a referee in 1997 after Red Cashion and Howard Roe announced their retirements, and returned to the back judge position in 2001 (the NFL switched the titles of back judge and field judge in 1998). [1] Luckett took a leave of absence from the NFL for the 2006 season. Having returned for 2007, Luckett was the back judge on Bill Carollo's crew. Luckett also refereed in the WLAF/NFL Europe, including being assigned World Bowl '97.
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Luckett has officiated several controversial games.
The first was an overtime coin toss on November 26, 1998 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Detroit Lions at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The referee microphone only picked up Pittsburgh captain Jerome Bettis calling "tails."[2] The toss was "tails", and Luckett called the Lions as the coin toss winners. Bettis insisted that he had called "tails", and Luckett insisted that Bettis had called "heads-tails," meaning that Bettis said "heads" first. The Steelers argued the call to no avail and Bettis denied Luckett's claim. The Lions scored a field goal on their first possession of the overtime to win the game.
Within a week, the game tape was enhanced, and Bettis is clearly heard saying "hea-tails." A sideline microphone enhancement also clearly had Bettis telling Coach Bill Cowher that (Bettis) had said "hea-tails."[2] According to NFL rules, a team's first call is the one the referee will use.
Following this incident, the captain's choice of heads or tails is now called before the coin is flipped, and the referee will generally state it over his microphone so that there is no dispute.
This incident was parodied in the film Rat Race, where Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays the role of a referee who botches a coin flip, costing one team the game.
The second was a late touchdown scored by Vinny Testaverde of the New York Jets against the Seattle Seahawks on December 6, 1998 at The Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Testaverde attempted a quarterback sneak on 4th down in the final minute of the game and although television replays clearly showed the football did not cross the goal line, head linesman Earnie Frantz ruled that Testaverde had scored (in fact, the only part of Testaverde that did cross the line was his helmet). At the time, the NFL did not use instant replay to review officials' decisions. Luckett, as the head of the officiating crew that day, received bad publicity despite not actually making the erroneous ruling. The call would be cited as a major reason why the NFL reinstituted instant replay the following season. The ruling is alleged to have helped cost Seahawks a chance at a playoff berth and cost head coach Dennis Erickson his job.[3]
The third was the Music City Miracle play during the 1999 Playoffs between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans on January 8, 2000 at Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville. A lateral pass (by rule, a backward pass or pass parallel to the line of yardage it was thrown from) thrown by Frank Wycheck to Kevin Dyson enabled Dyson to run 75 yards for a game-winning touchdown. The Bills claimed that the pass was actually a forward pass, and thus an illegal play that would have virtually clinched the game for the Bills. Instead, Luckett, after checking the replay, ruled the pass was thrown parallel to the 25-yard line, thus making it a legal lateral pass. The NFL gave the reason for the call was that replays showed no clear proof that the call on the field was bad. NFL Films, with computer assistance, later concluded that the pass was, once and for all, a lateral.[4]
Luckett was in the news again in 2001 when he failed to get out of the way and was run over by New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Horn as he streaked downfield for a pass, while not covered by any opposing player, from Aaron Brooks during the Saints' game against the Carolina Panthers. [5]