On Friday, sworn affidavits from two people revealed clues about why Florida Atlantic coach Carl Pelini and defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis resigned on Wednesday. Both coaches were allegedly caught using marijuana and cocaine.
FAU assistant coach Matt Edwards told officials that he witnessed Pelini smoking marijuana in Key West, Fla. on Oct. 19, the Saturday of an off week for the Owls. That was echoed by another person, Allison Stewart, who also said she got a text message from the now-former Owls coach one day later in which he was ”admitting that he uses drugs on occasion.”
Edwards remains on the staff, and is expected to be coaching Saturday when Florida Atlantic plays host to Tulane in Boca Raton, Fla. Brian Wright has replaced Pelini as head coach, on an interim basis.
His contract states he could be fired if he was caught with illegal drugs. Since he resigned he could still collect $500,000 from the school. Athletic director Patrick Chun said Pelini acknowledged illegal drug use before he resigned. He confronted them on Monday after allegations were brought to his attention. Pelini’s resignation takes effect immediately. Rekstis will leave on December 31 even though he is not listed on the coaching staff.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Wright was named interim coach.
“I have great confidence in his abilities to lead this football program,” Chun said. “When I asked Brian to take this role he accepted it without hesitation. He is surrounded by eight assistant coaches that are 100 percent committed to our program and student-athletes.”
Pelini’s salary was $472,500 a year. He was 5-15 in two years at the school. Rekstis earned $145,000 a year.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.