Pete Carroll, Vic Fangio and Kyle Shanahan have been fined $100,000 for not wearing masks during their team's games this past Sunday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Seahawks, Broncos and 49ers were fined an additional $250,000. The three fines added up to $1.05 million.
The fines came a week after Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive VP of football operations, sent a strongly worded memo to all 32 teams reminding them of the importance of wearing face covering during games. The memo also stated that future discipline could be enforced to coaches who don't comply with the league's rules. This season, any non-player in the "bench area," which is defined as each sideline between the 30-yard lines, is required to wear a mask at all times.
"We must remain vigilant and disciplined in following the processes and protocols put in place by not only the league, union and clubs, but also by state and local governments," the memo read. "Failure to adhere to this requirement will result in accountability measures being imposed against offending individuals and/or clubs ... Becoming careless or ignoring face covering and physical distancing requirements will put the 2020 season at risk."
While he was not fined on Monday, Rams coach Sean McVay said that he did hear from the league following his team's Week 1 win over the Cowboys. McVay told reporters that he figured that the league's memo "was directed at me."
"I've got to do a better job about that," McVay said with regard to wearing a mask during games. "So moving forward there will be a conscious effort to do that."
Given the severity of Monday's fines, it's safe to say that coaches will put an added emphasis on wearing masks moving forward.
