NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he expects some coaches to be allowed back to team facilities next week, a big step toward keeping the league on schedule for the '20 season. He added it will come as part of the league's "next phase" of reopening team offices shuttered due to the pandemic. Goodell in a memo said starting Monday, teams may reopen "ticket offices, retail shops and other customer-facing facilities" if allowed by local law. Coaches and players will not be allowed back until all teams can return to work by law. But Goodell said that almost all states with NFL clubs have either relaxed restrictions or are expected to soon. Separately, the league extended the virtual offseason by two weeks to June 12. It had been slated to end today (Ben Fischer, SBJ Unpacks).
TAKING PRECAUTION: NFL Exec VP/Football Operations Troy Vincent said that the league's decision on whether to "allow teams to conduct on-field practices before training camps open will be made carefully." Vincent said, "We're coming out of Phase 1, going into Phase 2. And we have to assure the general public and the players that our protocols and our procedures -- we can't miss. We just can't fail" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/29).
OFFICIATING MATTERS: In N.Y., Ken Belson reports the NFL on Thursday named longtime coach Perry Fewell Senior VP/Officiating Administration, a "newly created position that will involve overseeing an often-criticized department with increasingly complex duties." Disputes over the quality of the NFL's officiating have "grown louder in recent years." Fewell's job, in which he will report directly to Vincent, will mean a "marked departure from the old hierarchy" run by NFL Senior VP/Officiating Al Riveron, who "ran all aspects of the department." Riveron now will "focus solely on the league's replay review process." Meanwhile, longtime NFL referee Walt Anderson was "hired to recruit and train game-day officials," while NFL Chief Information Officer Michelle McKenna will "continue to oversee game-day technology" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/29).
