Phase 1 of the NFL’s reopening will begin Tuesday. Various front office staffers and other team personnel will have the option to work from team facilities, but coaches — and players who are not rehabbing injuries — continue to wait.
The league’s current line of thinking points to teams’ coaching staffs not being back at facilities until all 32 facilities are open, Judy Battista of NFL.com tweets. Several cannot open Tuesday because of stay-at-home orders remaining in effect.
Although players are not expected to be at team facilities until training camp, events of Monday afternoon provided a glimmer of hope in a grim stretch for sports. Texas joined Arizona and Florida among states that have reopened for sports, with the Lone Star State set to green-light fan-less games beginning May 31. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also said today that June 1 could serve as an opening for his state’s sports contests to resume (sans fans), via The Athletic’s Anthony Slater (on Twitter).
The NFL allowing teams’ coaches to return to facilities while others wait would not seemingly provide an immense advantage for certain teams, at least compared to the league giving some teams the option of bringing players back while others cannot. But for now, keeping each of the 32 teams’ staffs operating in a virtual capacity ensures fairness.
Social-distancing measures may still create a problem for teams to hold workouts, given the number of players and coaches involved and the in-between-whistles requirements of the sport. But some of the country’s marquee sports states making plans to move forward represents a good sign for the time being.
*Doug Marone celebrating*
Let coaches stay out as long as they want. They have a job that requires them to sacrifice much of their family life once training camp begins.