Mike Carey
- Referee: 94 – Mike Carey
- Umpire: 64 – Dan Ferrell
- Head Linesman: 79 – Kent Payne
- Line Judge: 9 – Mark Perlman
- Field Judge: 82 – Buddy Horton
- Side Judge: 47 – Tom Fincken
- Back Judge: 122 – Bill Schmitz
Michael “Mike” Carey is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 1990 NFL season. He began officiating football in 1972 working Pop Warner football games in the San Diego, California area. Later in 1985, he joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Carey was hired by the NFL in 1990 as a side judge before being promoted to referee for the start of the 1995 NFL season. He was the second African-American official to become a referee after Johnny Grier in 1988. Mike served as an alternate referee for Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. Of all the active referees in the NFL, Carey has ejected the most players. On the field, he wears the uniform number 94.
On October 3, 2005, Mike and his brother, Don, an NFL official as well (back judge), became the first brothers to officiate an NFL game together when they were assigned on the same officiating crew for the game between the Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers.
Carey was the ref during the January 7, 2006 NFC wild card playoff game between the Washington Redskins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Late in the game, he ejected Redskin defensive back Sean Taylor for spitting at Bucs running back Michael Pittman. Pittman slapped Taylor in retaliation, but was not punished for it.
Outside of football, Carey is also a co-owner of Seirus Innovation, a privately held company that manufactures ski and snowboarding gloves, face protection, and other cold-weather accessories. He is an inventor who owns or shares eight ski apparel patents, including “Cat Tracks,” a protective device which he created at age 30 to slip over the sole of a ski boot, preventing damage away from the ski run. Mike’s wife, Wendy, is the Chief Financial Officer of Seirus.
Carey was a college football running back for Santa Clara University and suffered an ankle injury which affects his ability to run. Today, Carey limits himself to running on the days he is scheduled to officiate games.
Mike and Wendy have two daughters, Drisana and Danica, and currently reside in San Diego, California.
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
Mike Carey,
I know you guys try hard to get every call right, and I will agree that you are accurate about 99% of the time. But when that 1% allows one team an advantage over another, its time to call you on it. If you review the tapes of the Dolphins – Pats game, you will see Randy Moss push off Vontae Davis multiple times to make a catch. In particular, Moss pushed off Davis, in the first half, on a pass play down the sidelines where Moss was down at the one yard line. Plays like this drive fans crazy for several reasons, the most important of which need not be reviewed. As a financial supporter of the NFL I have a vested interest in the games I watch, then to watch an official blow several calls that lead to easy points is mind boggling to me. So in other words, get you act together, review the 5-6 receptions Moss made in that game and watch his left arm/hand push Davis off for the reception w/o a flag. Miami plays the Pats in a few weeks again, I don’t want make up calls I just want you to DO YOUR JOB and throw the flag on Moss!!!!
this week against the raiders….every week against the raiders and my husband is a cowboy fan…….but the first kansa city touchdown runner ran past a blatent hold to get that touch down …we watch it week after week and laugh at what we consider money in the pocket reffs…theres no other way to explain it but they are on the take
Mike,
WAKE UP! Usually, you do a decent job…but what the hell are u doing calling that a touchdown by the Seahawks in the 2nd qtr??? Um hello, totally out of bounds….check out his big foot on the pretty white line!!! Out of bounds…no touchdown!! Why did they get off the 2nd pt so fast…hmmm?!! The flagrent pushing in the back on Ronde and yet Seattle argues their way out of your call…r u serious! Biased much!! I thought you were one of a dying breed of honest and fair refs, what a let down! Wake up, they have had at least 2 or 3 pass interferance issues..and no calls, yet your all over the Bucs for minor calls, that the Seahawks are getting away with! I have no problem with your calls on us…just be fair…FAIR! I truly hope you are made aware of your poor performance in this game and receive truly critical yet FAIR evaluation of from your superiors.
This is a follow up for the above comment. See this is me, correcting an error, you should try it, its the right thing to do! Anyway, I meant extra point, not “2nd pt.” As well as neglecting to delete the word “of” from the last sentence. I was so upset with how your allowing this game to playout, that I made minor typos lol! Look, this is one of the last games of the season, for many teams, especially the Bucs, there are jobs on the line (jobs of great men), get your shit together!
Mike
What do you have against the Broncos??? Every game you refv that they play in you call some BS calls on them and miss calls on the other side? What are you getting paid to do? Everytime you ref against the Broncos it is very obvious that you ref one sided and are more harsh towards the Broncos, so what is your deal? I thought you were suppost to make the game fair?? So why is the person who is suppost to be making it fair, making it worse???
I agree and hope that the NFL conducts a review of the games Mike has called when the Broncos played. This is a travesty!!
Blew us the entire season thanks to an assanine call by a now bad ref!!!
I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I’VE ALWAYS WATCHED FOOTBALL BUT NEVER PAID MUST ATTENTION TO THE REFS UNLESS THEY MADE A BAD CALL. I COMMEND YOU FOR THE WAY YOU HANDLE YOURSELF ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD. I GUESS I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I’M PROUD OF A BROTHER LIKE YOU. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU OFFICIATING MANY MORE SUPER BOWL GAMES.
YO MILDRED!!….why don’t you get your head out of your @$$ and look at what Carey did today. He just tattered his entire career with his work today. just to let the dumb people in the world like you know….being composed and having control is all BS when they suck at the actual job they are doing
Hi Mike. It is embarrasing for me to watch the games that you and your crew officiate. The entire football world saw you go under the hood and make not only the wrong call, but one that question your integrety. This was the Packer vs Pittsburg game where you clearly, or intentionally made a horrible call taking an obvious touch down away. In this game also your crew missed or ignored and obvious pass interference call.
I am currently watching a Bronco vs Eagle game that you and your crew is calling and once again the calls are missed or ignored.
I wonder what motivates you!!!!!
Mike Carey did not ref the Packers-Steelers game…
B Fox speaks the truth, haha…
perhaps you are thinking of Parry, who did indeed referee the Pack-Steeler game week 15.
your and the nfl analysis of the game of football needs some help, why don’t you have acrew in the box, you have how many cameras on the field and in the stadium to watch the game, an idea would be to help you out during critical moments? it isn’t just you, your buddies can use some help too… I can’t figure out why the nfl with all of their cameras and all of their TV analyists can’t figure out that people who know the game lose interest in the games based on what we see at home and the fact that nobody with all the cameras and the advantage of the cameras are helping you guys out… have a guy in the booth communicate to the officals on the field and help them with what the fans and the camera are seeing… the games is passing the people on the field by, I understand and can account for some of it, other pieces of it are driving fans and coaches away from the game… not fun officicating, so I’ll take on another cause and quit watching the sport I love, thank you
Do you go with the team that pays you the most monies? Well it sure seems that way! I do hope that you can sleep at nite. At looking at this site there are a lot of people that think that you need to be replaced. You should lead with your heart and not with who pays you the most.
I hope you and your family had a happy holiday.
Ps: YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike,
I sincerely hope you do have a nice time with your family, I’m not an angry fan, upset coach, probably, not to you, to the system..it can be better than what it is…just try to make it better, kohlberg’s model of moral development and the why people expect sports to be… it could go a long why in understanding player, coach, fan and other’s committment to what is happening within the nfl.
MIKE CARREY!!!! The game you called today was all over the place and a complete and utter joke. The review at the end of the game cost the Denver Broncos there hopes on playoff chances because you blatantly did not make the correct call and gave them enough yardage for field goal range. Some calls today I shrugged off, but when I see calls like this I am astonished, outraged and hope your work for this game costs you AND YOUR CAREER as much as you cost the Broncos today. All respect out the window!!
well, your broncos were 6-0 and should of made the playoffs anyway… any team that starts 6-0 and has to wait until the last game of the season to clinch should not be in the playoffs anyway…. ok to blame refs for losing a game, however, in your case and that of the broncos, you should not blame them for them failing to make the playoffs… lol
He should be kicked out of all playoff hopes!!!
How can he sleep at night?? That cross country flight back to San Diego (home of his Chargers) must have been one that invoked some thought…oh wait….to have thought you would have to have a brain and he showed America he doesn’t possess one
If people look @ this work done by Carey it can be determined he has dropped off from respected ref to league dope who should be removed next year!! All respect is lost for such a crucial mistake and the whole “everybody is human” lick cannot be used here because it was obvious that everybody else which is human in the world saw the pass was incomplete.
Mike Carey chose the best time of the NFL season to show the nation his IQ of complete and utter stupidity in regards to the NFL. Stick to flag football!!
The catch being referred to was the Maclin catch and THAT WAS A CATCH.
No…he bobbled the catch after initial possession and when the bobble occurred his right foot left the ground and never touched again!!! Bad Call
HOW IS THIS A BAD CALL. You might be the only person in America who feels this way. Even Broncos fans know this is a catch by Maclin.
Russ Russ Russ….from the time that ball touched his hand he did not keep absolute possession through the duration of the play. Look back and see the bobble after initial possession and this is when his right foot was not touching the ground anymore
Moron Broncos fans bitter that the right call was made Mike at the end.
haha Matt! Typical Broncos fan…when every call doesn’t go his way he gets blue in the face. That was a catch. I’m betting you weren’t getting so upset when Hoculi gave you the game against the Chargers last year (a game which included numerous RIDICULOUS calls in favor of the Broncos). Trust me, the majority of NFL fans consider a game vs the Broncos as a game vs them and the refs too. (Nice PI call against the Pats’ Samuel in the 2005 divisional playoff game!) I was flabbergasted that a ref would call that not a catch in the first place. It WAS a catch, and there is no legitimate reason for a ref to assume it wasn’t. Anyway, Matt, enjoy your second consecutive collapse…Broncos never deserved to get this close anyway. Maybe they should spend more time practicing the old Stokley tip play that worked so well against Cincy.
Mike, you’ve always been one of my favorite refs and I thank you for doing a good job. It’s tough when you have irrational spoiled fans like Matt to deal with.
Eric my friend, yes I’m quite angry about the call and yes I agree that we are lucky to be there. But I have watched Carey’s crew a number of times this and year and the guy confuses himself and wrong call’s are made at the most important time. Once again, you can’t just like a guy because he has good control of a game
Oh and by the way when Ed made that call against the Chargers we all knew it was a wrong call…it was….Chargers deserved to win that game….Chargers still took the division in the end so if the Donkeys make the playoffs it will be a forgive but never forget moment
Go home Matt! While I agree it wasn’t Carey’s best effort, he is a great ref. Posting on a page that he will never look at 11 times does not help anyone. GIVE IT UP. Maclin caught the ball. The Eagles were the better team. I like the Broncos too, but you need to give it a rest. Losing to the Raiders and Redskins may nock the Broncos out of the playoffs, not Mike Carey!
Hey man I agree….Broncos are weak and the big run they allowed to McNabb on 3rd and 25 is what they can look too for there collapse at the end. But, we disagree…I say he missed it, but @ crucial times he misses big calls!!!
Hey Rafferty,
Go sleep it off man. It was a catch and only a Bronco fan would see it different. Your rants every 5 minutes is embarrassing. He made the right call in my opinion. Maybe the Broncos should just not choke every year so you wont have to cry and think it is the Refs who blow your playoff chances. Yeah , thats it……its the refs fault the Broncos had a 3 game lead and now are down 4 games while losing 7 of 9…..LOL
Give me a break!
Maybe if you beat the Raiders at Home and beat the 4-11 Redskins you wouldnt be so upset. Its just another classic Bronco collapse. Dont blame Mike Carey for your teams woes. The Broncos are just pretenders but at least during this collapse you arent getting blown out 52-3 like last year.
Guys….im done here….sorry about the rant. I know the Broncos are weak and they don’t really deserve to be in the situation they were in. I still think Carey missed that one call, but it’s over. Carey and his crew are still one of the best
Mike is a damn good ref..
Sad, that he has so bad a crew..
Hey Mike,
I think you are one of the best refs in football. Don’t pay any attention to the whiney Bronco fans. They are just gripping hard and grasping at straws as their team implodes and has a collapse for the ages. They should realize they were never as good as their 6-0 start suggested. It all comes out in the wash and they are no better than a .500 team and wouldn’t even be in the playoff hunt if not for a miracle tipped pass on opening day against the Bungles.
I believe they got the call right on the Maclin catch at least it looked like it to me. As far as any other calls in the Eagle/Bronco game I have no idea because I didn’t see much of it.
Why is there so much hatred towards Mike Caray. He is one of the best referees in the business. Its not his fault that the Broncos defense couldn’t stop Philly on the final drive. Don’t be sore losers! Caray deserves another Super Bowl.
Warren,
Maclin was clearly in bounds and it was called correctly. Caray and his crew did an exceptional job in that game. Please don’t let angry Denver fans bash him.
why do fans always blame the officials when their team loses? There are way too many sore losers in this country! Mike Caray is an excellent official and he does a suberb job.
Wow- I can’t believe all of the nasty comments people write you. Do you really read this stuff? I guess it goes with the job, but geezzz. Plus, aren’t the coaches given challenges just to “double check” questionable calls?
Question: I get why you ejected Sean Taylor for spitting (I totally get that) but not Michael Pittman for hitting? Is it because Michael wouldn’t ahve hit if Sean didn’t spit? I’m just curious.
Anyway, I don’t hold grudges against someone for doing what they think is right. People need to get over that. But on a positive note,, I can tellyou that you are the cutest ref EVER. Keep on reffing and I’ll keep on watching!
Happy New Year to you and your family!!
Did anyone watch this game? I watched online only because I am a 49er fan. If anyone did, I was wondering if someone could explain the “illegal player out of bounds” that Carey called twice on the same punt, causing the punt to be retaken…
I think the crew did great, and Carey is due for the postseason, not the SB though
This is list is out of date – for one thing, Umpire Dan Ferrell is now on John Parry’s crew and Mike Carey has a different one
Here from December of 2009:
http://www.packers.com/news/releases/2009/12/20/1/