The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench in practically everything, including the NFL offseason. The league has made clear that they want every team to be on equal footing as they head back towards reopening, which means no coaches will be allowed to return to facilities until all teams can return.
According to Judy Battista of NFL.com, even though NFL facilities will be allowed to open on Tuesday, coaches won’t be allowed in the door. There are 10 teams that aren’t allowed to open their facilities because of local regulations. With the NFL trying to level the playing field and not letting anyone get an advantage, the coaches will still have to stay away.
With NFL facilities starting to reopen tomorrow, I was told over the weekend that the thinking in the league right now is that coaches will not return until all facilities are open. Right now, approximately 10 can not reopen because of local stay-at-home laws.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) May 18, 2020
This is probably just the first step for the league trying to make everything fair for all teams, but unfortunately, that might not be possible this season. When training camp rolls around and some states are still closed, teams will likely have to find other options in order to convene.
Some NFL teams might have to travel to other states, while others can go home every night to their homes. Will the league allow that to happen or will they put rules in place to try and make that more fair?
If the NFL wants a season to happen this season, some teams are probably going to get some sort of advantage by default. But for now, keeping coaches away from their facilities until all can meet with their teams and staff is one attempt to make sure the competitive balance is maintained.
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