The NFL has been fortunate throughout the coronavirus pandemic, which has put the sports world on hiatus. While Major League Baseball, the NHL and the NBA have had to either delay their start or hit the pause button in the midst of their season, the NFL was in its offseason and could be patient with making sweeping decisions about its operation.
However, with July just days away, the time is coming when the NFL has to start making some tough decisions. Putting concrete plans in place to get their players, coaches and personnel back in facilities to prepare for the coming season, but doing it safely.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the league sent a memo to all 32 teams requesting each to develop an Infectious Disease Emergency Response (IDER). What is an IDER? It essentially creates tiers within the organization, as it pertains to personnel and staff.
"The tiers are designed to limit access to restricted areas such as the practice and stadium fields, sidelines, locker room and training rooms to essential personnel only," Schefter writes. "Teams must assign tiers to all their employees, who wear a tiered photographed credential to spell out their access."
Each team's IDER is due to be submitted to the league for review seven days before teams report for training camp. While no one knows when camps will to open, 26 teams have been preparing for a July 28 start date. The Steelers, who are scheduled to start the preseason in the annual Hall of Fame game, would be one of the few who could potentially start earlier.
Once the IDER is submitted, it will be reviewed and need to be approved by the NFL, NFLPA and the Infection Control for Sports.
According to Schefter, here is the framework of the tiers for the IDER:
• Tier 1 will consist of players, coaches, trainers, physicians and necessary personnel who must have direct access to the players.
• Tier 2 will consist of general managers, football operations employees, other assistant coaches, video personnel, security and other essential personnel who may need to be in close proximity to the players and other Tier 1 individuals who may need to access restricted areas. Only individuals assigned to Tiers 1 and 2 will be permitted access to restricted areas, and there will be limits on the number of individuals from each team who can be assigned Tier 1 and Tier 2 access at a given time.
• Tier 3 will consist of certain operational personnel, in-house media and broadcast personnel, field managers, transportation providers and individuals who perform essential facility, stadium or event services, but do not require close contact with Tier 1 individuals. Team and other personnel who work exclusively in areas of team facilities that are or will be completely cordoned off from the rest of the facility do not need to be credentialed in one of the three access tiers.
The NFL is not taking this lightly, as it prepares for players and personnel to return to facilities. For instance, protocols as simple as defined entrances for specific personnel, cleaning measures and facial coverings worn in the facilities will be enforced. Surprise inspections by the NFL or NFLPA are possible.
Will this plan work? At this point, experts are simply putting together the plan they hope will be most effective. How will this impact teams, and their operations? Looking at the above tiers, the impact it should have, outside of someone contracting the virus, should be minimal.
Be sure you get all the latest updates on NFL players' return to facilities right here at DKPittsburghSports.com.
