Steelers' Mike Tomlin, assistants permitted to return to team complex Friday

The NFL will move one step closer to normalcy Friday when coaches will be permitted back inside team facilities for the first time since March.

Commissioner Roger Goodell informed the 32 teams of his decision Thursday.

Team facilities were closed to coaches for about three months as the league dealt with social distancing measures in order to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Facilities began gradually reopening a few weeks ago, but coaches and healthy players were barred.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and his assistants have conducted virtual offseason workouts with players from their homes. Such sessions will continue to be held virtually but coaches can gather and teach collectively from UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side.

The NFL’s timing coincides with Allegheny County entering the “green phase” of Gov. Wolf’s three-tiered plan to reopen the state in the wake of the pandemic.

Coaches will count toward a maximum of 100 employees allowed in a team facility — an increase from 75.

In his memo to teams, which was obtained by the Associated Press, Goodell said each team’s medical staff must implement a program of coronavirus testing for coaches “prior to the players returning to club facilities.”

Goodell’s memo did not mention when players might be permitted to return to team facilities. The only players allowed inside are those rehabilitating injuries.

Earlier in the week, Goodell informed all NFL teams that training camp would not take place at remote locations, an edict that impacts 10 teams, including the Steelers. UPMC Rooney Sports Complex will be the site of training camp this year, breaking a 54-year tradition of the Steelers training at Saint Vincent in Unity.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.