Brown: Massive Changes Likely When UNC Football Returns from Pandemic

Whenever the time arrives for college football to get started, there’s a strong chance it’ll look a lot different than usual thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. UNC head coach Mack Brown is optimistic the season will begin on time, but recognizes the challenges that lie ahead.

Speaking with the media via Zoom earlier this week, Brown said he was told by UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz to “imagine a new normal” because things will not be the same as they were before.

Right now, the plan is for the Tar Heel coaching staff to return to work at the Kenan Football Center on June 15. Cleaning crews will begin a deep cleaning of the facility on June 1 in anticipation of that planned start date.

The tentative plan has players arriving in early July to begin conditioning before practice would open at the beginning of August as it traditionally does.

Should all of that go well, Brown said there would still be big changes put into effect to keep with the current social distancing guidelines, creating a brand new challenge for a Hall-of-Fame coach one might think has seen it all.

“The question will be, when we come back, will we have 10 working out in a weight room at a time or 50 or less?” Brown said. “What will those numbers be like? I’m a hugger and a high-fiver and I’m gonna have to change. That’s just who I am, so I’m really gonna have to work at our first team meeting with everybody back. And everybody has to stay six feet apart. Things have changed and we’re going to have to do that for everybody’s health.”

Brown also discussed the possibility of having to split team meetings into smaller groups, while holding those get-togethers in a larger auditorium to maintain distance.

When it came to questions surrounding testing for the virus and how often the team would be required to get tested, the coach deferred to his superiors, saying Guskiewicz and Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham are working on those elements and should have an answer by early June.

“I think the next month-and-a-half here when people are considering bringing players back is really, really important for us to work through those timelines and make sure that we get answers,” Brown said. “I can’t bring our coaches back to campus without knowing that they’re safe. I can’t possibly bring a recruit and his family on our campus without explaining to those parents that ‘This is as safe as you can be.’”

The schedule for 2020 has the Tar Heels opening the season in Orlando against UCF on September 4. Brown is hopeful everything will go smooth enough between now and then to keep that as a reality.

Other schedules that would focus on keeping teams within their regions or start at a later date have been talked about, but nothing has been agreed to—leaving the Tar Heels in a spot where they’ll prepare for UCF now and adjust later if they need to.

“What I’ve tried to do is stay out of all the speculation and just plan on what I’ve been told a long time ago might be the truth,” Brown said. “It does sound like the NFL said they’re going to play football in the fall. There is talk about baseball and basketball and all of the sports starting, maybe without fans, possibly this summer.

“So, there is chatter out there for all of us,” he continued. “I felt a little buzz of excitement with our staff because it seems like people are planning on us having a football season.”

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Photo via Dakota Moyer

Brown: Massive Changes Likely When UNC Football Returns from Pandemic

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