Tim Beckman will no longer serve as a volunteer assistant for the North Carolina football team, he said in a statement Thursday.
Beckman was fired from Illinois in August 2015 when an internal investigation claimed he mistreated some of his players, pressuring them to play through injury and postpone treatment.
“I appreciate the opportunity Coach Fedora gave me to stay connected to the sport and be around one of the best staffs in the country," Beckman said in a statement. "His willingness to help a friend was a benefit both personally and professionally. 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. I wish Larry and the program nothing but success going forward.”
Beckman coached at Oklahoma State in 2007 alongside UNC Coach Larry Fedora, who hired Beckman at the beginning of training camp this summer. Fedora defended the hiring after Wednesday's practice.
"I brought Tim here to help a friend gain experience from our staff, but after meeting with him today, we agreed his presence had become too much of a distraction," Fedora said in a statement.
Fedora said Wednesday that the hiring of Beckman was approved by Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham — though Chancellor Carol Folt said in a statement she didn't know about the hiring until Wednesday.
“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," Folt said in the statement.
"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."
