Mike Carey (American football)  Michael "Mike" Carey (born c. 1949) is a retired American football official in the National Football League (NFL). His uniform number was 94. Prior to his officiating career, he played college football as a running back for Santa Clara University. Carey was a respected official in the NFL for his thorough pre-game preparation, professional demeanor, and fair play. In a poll conducted by ESPN in 2008, Carey tied with referee Ed Hochuli for most "best referee" votes among NFL head coaches. He had also ejected the most players in the league among current referees, as of 2002, including incidents involving Sean Taylor and Terrell Suggs. In his nineteenth year as referee with the 2013 NFL season, Carey's officiating crew consisted of umpire Chad Brown, head linesman Mark Baltz, line judge Tim Podraza, field judge Mike Weir, side judge Doug Rosenbaum and back judge Kirk Dornan. Carey was designated as referee of Super Bowl XLII between the New England Patriots and New York Giants, becoming the first African American referee to receive the prestigious assignment. Carey officiated the same two teams when they played each other during the final week of the 2007 NFL season. At the time of his retirement, Carey was one of the two senior referees in the NFL, along with Walt Coleman. Carey was promoted in 1995 when the league added the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars and thus needed an extra officiating crew to handle up to 15 games per weekend instead of 14, which had been the case between 1976 and 1994. Carey attended and later graduated from Santa Clara University in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in biology. While at SCU, he played running back for four years until an ankle injury ended his playing career. The injury continues to impact Carey today as it limits his running ability. He only allows himself to run on days he is scheduled to officiate games. Carey currently resides in San Diego, California, along with his wife, Wendy. Wendy, also a graduate of SCU, is the chief financial officer of Seirus Innovation. The couple have two daughters, Drisana and Danica. Mike Carey's older brother, Don Carey, is also a retired NFL official. He worked as a back judge from the 2010 NFL season until 2013; before that, he was a field judge from to , a back judge from to and a referee in . Mike and Wendy Carey founded Seirus Innovation, a privately held company that manufactures ski and snowboarding gloves, face protection, and other cold-weather accessories, in 1979.