Dean Blandino was hated by fans, hammered by coaches and challenged by the media.
And guess what?
Whoever replaces Blandino atop the NFL's officiating department will face the same throng of angry, insatiable protests to game decisions and rule interpretations on a weekly basis. As scrutiny of officiating intensifies around all sports, at a time when objective decisions must be made about subjective events, there is no way to make everyone happy.
The NFL told its teams Friday morning that Blandino will leave his post in May, heading for what ESPN's Adam Schefter reported was a broadcasting job.