A few post-scripts for the just-ended football season:
**Bryn Renner underwent surgery Wednesday on his left ankle to remove an anterior bone spur and a posterior accessory bone. Renner played with the ankle condition all year and had decided before training camp to postpone surgery until the conclusion of the season.
**To literally add injury to insult, key defensive players Darius Lipford and Donte Paige-Moss suffered ACL tears during Monday night's Independence Bowl. Lipford injured his left knee, while Paige-Moss injured his right. Both will face off-season surgery and will miss spring practice.
**To the surprise of, well, no one, the infamous Dwight Jones New Year's Eve party is back on like popcorn! The use of Jones' name in the party's promotion got the wide receiver in hot water with the NCAA and it was announced the party had been cancelled. Anyone who thought the party would actually be cancelled (I'm looking at you, Bubba) obviously does not know how this stuff works. When the posse and extended family of star athletes (Jones said the promoter was a family member) and cash money are involved, things like this just don't go away. In addition, the notoriety of the party and the fact that it gained national attention as something forbidden only makes it that much more popular.
**Inside Carolina is reporting that new coach Larry Fedora is rounding out his assistant coaching staff. While UNC has not made any official announcements, a source told IC that Fedora's staff would include three more members of his Southern Miss coaching staff: offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Blake Anderson, co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Dave Duggan and wide receivers coach Walt Bell. The source also reported that Fedora will retain UNC's current strength and conditioning coach Tom Myslinski.
Previously reported as having been added to Fedora's Carolina staff are Illinois defensive coordinator Vic Koenning and Ole Miss wide receivers coach Gunter Brewer, as well as defensive line coach Deke Adams, defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Dan Disch and offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic from Southern Miss. One coaching spot still remains to be filled.
The intriguing items here are that A) Fedora brought both of his defensive co-coordinators from USM in addition to Koenning from Illinois, who will most certainly be the coordinator at UNC; B) not a single on-field coach is being retained from the current staff (it has been rumored that Ken Browning was offered an administrative position); and C) that the one person retained is Myslinski, when strength and conditioning seemed to be a real weakness of this year's team.