http://www.csnchicago.com/big-ten/tim-b ... h-carolina


Well that was fast.

About as quickly as the world found out Tim Beckman was working as a volunteer assistant at North Carolina, the former Illinois head coach stepped down from his post.

In a Thursday release, Beckman said he doesn't want to be a distraction to the team.

"I do not wish to be a further distraction to the team or university, and I will no longer serve as a volunteer at UNC," Beckman said in the announcement, published by the News & Observer.

North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora defended Beckman's presence Wednesday, showing a surprising lack of concern over the fact that Beckman was fired from his position as the head football coach at Illinois a year ago when an investigation found evidence supporting accusations of player mistreatment, with former players alleging on social media that Beckman forced players to play injured, demeaned injured players and threatened to take their scholarships away.

Beckman was said to only be working on scouting and film study, but pictures taken at North Carolina practice showed him working with players on the field.

"I don't believe everything I read, all right," Fedora told reporters Wednesday, his quotes tweeted by Andrew Carter of the News & Observer. "I know Tim. I know his side of the story, also. So I was comfortable with it. If I wouldn't have been, obviously I wouldn't have brought him. I wouldn't have allowed him to be in our program. But I was very comfortable with it. I don't have any issues with it at all."

Fedora acknowledged the controversy, saying, "I know it's going to happen, and then a couple of days from now it won't be news. I mean, I promise you, I didn't see anywhere where the NCAA said that he should be banished from the game of football. You know? I mean, the guy didn't win enough games. That's all it was."

North Carolina brass clearly wasn't as comfortably with Beckman's presence as Fedora was, with some strong words coming from the university chancellor.

"When I first learned yesterday that coach Larry Fedora had invited former Illinois head coach Tim Beckman to serve as a volunteer with the football program, I was surprised and disappointed," chancellor Carol Folt said in a statement, published by the News & Observer. "The decision for Mr. Beckman to withdraw from his volunteer position was the right thing to do, and moving forward I don’t expect this situation to recur."

The possibility existed for Beckman to show up in Champaign, as Illinois plays host to North Carolina in the second game of the season. But with Beckman no longer a part of the Tar Heels' staff, that possibility no longer exists.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."