FAU Head Coach Carl Pelini Ousted For Smoking Weed At A Party
12 years ago

You’ve got a big college football game on Saturday and need to strategize a defensive game-plan with your defensive coordinator. You draw up blitz packages and talk coverages. Maybe you’ll load the box and play man on the backside, maybe the best route is to make them beat you with the pass. It’s all very stressful — here why don’t you take a hit out of this bong to relieve some stress.

For Florida Atlantic University’s head football coach Carl Pelini and defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis, smoking weed was the alleged final straw for the school’s athletic director Patrick Chun. Both coaches abruptly “resigned” after reports of the two getting high at a party this season surfaced on Wednesday afternoon. It was the sad final stage of Pelini’s head coaching tenure that could only be described as a busted flush.

Their exit, as reported by ESPN’s Brett McMurphy and FAU beat writer Dieter Kurtenbach, was a bit tumultuous. Fort Lauderdale police were apparently at the football facilities on Wednesday morning dealing with an illegal drug situation.

Chun confirmed reports yesterday afternoon in a press conference that the coaches were not invited to attend.

“It is a heartbreaking day for us all,” Chun said at a press conference this afternoon, announcing the resignations of Pelini and defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis. OC Brian Wright will take over as interim coach.

Chances are if Nick Saban wanted to light up a joint, the university would scramble jets to find him the best weed in the southeast. But when you’re 1-4 in the C-USA, benefit of the doubt is lost.

[via Deadspin]

Image via Yahoo! Sports

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  3. CollegeBallFraturday

    When you’re coaching a C-USA school, you gotta have some fun SOME time.

    12 years ago at 1:40 pm
  4. SoFloSec

    “Fort Lauderdale police were apparently at the football facilities on Wednesday”
    Why on earth would Ft. Lauderdale Police be in a different county to handle a situation like this? I believe you mean FAU Police or maybe Palm Beach County Sheriff’s department.

    12 years ago at 1:44 pm
  5. 5th_Year_Frat

    I don’t want to beat a dead horse on the drug issue – but this is ridiculous. Doing drugs does not make you cool, and I am not a liberal hippie, but drug LAWS need to be revised terribly.

    You would expect this kind of immediate resignation and embarrassment to come from a murder, burglary, or some other kind of horrific act. Instead, this coach took a hit of weed, got high, had a big smile on his face, AND NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED! You cannot argue that as a man of influence and public scrutiny, you should avoid illegal drugs. But these drug laws are what is criminal.

    12 years ago at 1:45 pm
    2. Jon M Fratsman

      Sets a bad example for the players, if you ask me. There’s enough thugs on the field as is these days.

      12 years ago at 2:15 pm
    3. Tallapoosa Snu

      I agree it’s about the example. Coaches are supposed to be mentors and there’s always gonna be a stigma around drugs, enough to get you fired. College coaches can smoke all of the blunts on their couch at home, but don’t do that shit in public or let anyone find out. It’s just like any high responsibility job. You’re not gonna hire the guy that smells like bud to manage your financial portfolio. But if he does a good job, smokes in his free time, and you’re happily ignorant, no harm done.

      12 years ago at 12:28 pm
  7. SoFloSec

    Also in the ultimate irony, FAU had Alex Marley (Yes that Marley family) and the Dirty Heads play a school sponsored concert last night for students. Yet Pelini gets fired for weed.

    12 years ago at 4:31 pm
  10. PantyCollector

    At least he didn’t have to tell the players to show potential recruits on a visit the “best time they can have on this campus” anymore.

    12 years ago at 3:28 am