University of North Carolina Athletics
Fedora ESPN Car Wash Running Diary
July 28, 2014 | Football
As part of the ACC's preseason media schedule, North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora traveled to ESPN Monday to take part in the network's "car wash" of interviews. Here's a running diary of Fedora's day in Connecticut:
6:45 a.m. - It's an early start to what will be a busy day at ESPN for Coach Fedora. Fedora, along with director of football communications Kevin Best and UNC New Media's Jon Leggette, board a private plane set for an 8:30 a.m. arrival in Hartford. From there, it's a 30-minute drive southwest to Bristol and the ESPN campus.
9:15 a.m. - Fedora is one of seven ACC coaches getting the car-wash treatment Monday. The term "car wash" to describe a full day of interviews across many platforms at the network was coined by none other than ESPN legend Bob Ley.
The seven coaches - Fedora, Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson, FSU's Jimbo Fisher, Pitt's Paul Chryst, Syracuse's Scott Shafer, Virginia's Mike London and Louisville's Bobby Petrino - are briefed by Lisa Stokes (see above link) in ESPN's new digital center before splintering off. Handler Darren Demetrio takes Fedora to begin the day's full slate of live hits, taped video segments and one-on-ones with various writers and broadcasters.
10 a.m. - After a one-on-one with college football writer Brett McMurphy, Fedora heads to a small set to tape an interview for ESPNU. Upon finding out that he'll be talking with panelists via satellite, Fedora jokingly mocks the fact that he "traveled from Chapel Hill to Bristol to do an interview with Matt from Charlotte." A good laugh is had by all.
.@CoachFedora on ESPNU for a taped segment. #ESPNACC pic.twitter.com/5f3Mkd7utc
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) July 28, 2014
10:30 a.m. - Fedora meets with longtime college football reporter Ivan Maisel, who now has a podcast in addition to his duties as a senior writer for ESPN.com. Maisel, you may not know, is one of only seven writers (along with Tony Barnhart and Hoops Weiss, among others) to have covered all 16 BCS title games.
After wrapping up with Maisel, it's another radio interview with Brad Edwards, one of the co-hosts of College GameDay Radio. Edwards, who moved up the ranks at ESPN after starting as a researcher, may be one of the few people that will miss the BCS.
10:55 a.m. - On the way to a roundtable, Fedora visits with ESPN's Joe Schad, who contributes to the network's college football coverage in a variety of ways. Fedora and Schad have known each other since the early 2000s when Fedora was an assistant at Florida and Schad was a UF beat writer.
11 a.m. - Fedora is joined by Jimbo Fisher and Mike London for a roundtable discussion moderated by ESPN's Chris Cotter. Among the issues discussed are pace of play in college football and student-athlete welfare.
ACC coaches roundtable with @CoachFedora, Fisher and London. pic.twitter.com/bKYj2NyAuH
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) July 28, 2014
11:25 a.m. - Heather Dinich, who has been covering the ACC for ESPN since the network started assigning dedicated reporters for conferences, is here to ask coaches about the College Football Playoff. Fedora and Dinich discuss how scheduling will affect the postseason and how coaches and fans alike will have to wait until several weeks into the season to see exactly how the process works.
11:50 a.m. - One of the most fun stops on any trip to Bristol is the SVP & Russillo Show, and one of the perks is getting into the show's rotation of college football helmets that appear on set. Fedora brought a new Carolina helmet for last year's car wash, and it has been a frequent sight on the show's ESPNU simulcast.
.@CoachFedora with SVP and Russillo show. Tar Heels helmet proudly on display. #ESPNACC pic.twitter.com/QlkSPo2KUp
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) July 28, 2014
Ryen Russillo and Jorge Sedano (sitting in for Scott Van Pelt) asked Fedora if there was another team in college football that resembled UNC. Fedora's answer was that there isn't one.
12:20 p.m. - Back with Chris Cotter on the new SportsCenter set and the topic is this photo of Fedora with his daughter Sydney on their family trip to the Gulf coast of Florida:
This photo of head coach @sydneyfedora and some guy named Larry just went nationwide on SportsCenter. #ESPNACC pic.twitter.com/RXnLzVX0E4
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) July 28, 2014
Needless to say, Fedora can back up his talk when it comes to the importance of conditioning for the Tar Heels.
12:40 p.m. - Fedora with another taped segment, this time with the crew from Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable. In the style typical of the show, it's a unique and fun spin on the usual line of media questioning, and Dan challenges the idea that Papi, his father/co-host can't match Fedora's six-pack. The newest addition to the show is Bomani Jones, who has a master's degree from UNC and spent several years as a radio host in the Raleigh/Durham market.
1:40 p.m. - If this is the car wash, Chris Cotter is Richard Pryor. After lunch, Cotter gets his third crack at Coach Fedora, this time on the set of College Football Live. They are joined by London and Paul Johnson to discuss the speed of the game again as well as the variety of offenses in the ACC. Fedora says that his decision to go to the spread came down simply to finding a way to gain an edge.
2:20 p.m. - Fedora wraps up his day in Bristol with a photo shoot. Phil Ellsworth from ESPN Images captured the many faces of the Carolina head man.
(Photo courtesy of ESPN Images/Phil Ellsworth)
2:40 p.m. - A full day at ESPN comes to a close as the Tar Heel party heads back to Hartford to catch a flight home. There will be little rest for Fedora this week, however, as team reporting day for training camp is Thursday. After a long summer, the 2014 season is almost here!
