IL fired Beckman shortly before the 2015 opener after a law firm hired by the university concluded he interfered in player medical decisions and pressured players to play through injuries. Thomas also said Beckman behaved inappropriately in regard to whether student-athletes could remain on scholarship while football was not in season.
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Beckman went 21-16 in three years at Toledo (2009-11), then was 12-25 at IL, getting him in hot water even aside from the player mistreatment allegations.
Not a good look, right? IL fired Beckman a year ago this week, and now Beckman is a volunteer coach for Fedora at North Carolina.
North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora has hired him, but Beckman won’t coach any Tar Heels, UNC spokesman Kevin Best said.
The rules regarding volunteer football coaches are somewhat unclear. Carter adds that Beckman “won’t have any real control as a volunteer”. Beckman’s responsibility is to scout and watch film for North Carolina, the Charlotte Observer reported. Similar prohibitions can be found on the official Websites of the University of Houston, South Carolina, Louisiana-Lafayette and Florida International. A North Carolina athletic department spokesman would only confirm that Beckman will be a volunteer on defense, and that Fedora will meet with reporters after practice on Wednesday.
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Interestingly enough, UNC travels to Champaign this year to take on IL on September 10, although it is unclear if Beckman’s duties with the Heels will require him to travel.
