Report: Carl Pelini denies drug use, seeks FAU reinstatement

Former FAU head coach Carl Pelini lost 15 of his 20 games in his two years at the school. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Carl Pelini, who resigned as head coach at FAU a week ago, has denied he used drugs and is seeking reinstatement, according to a report by ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

At a press conference on Oct. 30, FAU athletic director Pat Chun cited “illegal drug use” as the reason for the immediate resignations of Pelini and defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis. Chun found out about an incident that Monday and reported it to the school’s general counsel. According to Chun, no other football staffers or student-athletes were involved.

Pelini and Rekstis were both escorted out of the team’s football offices by police.

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In a statement issued to ESPN on Thursday, Pelini said he denied using illegal drugs to FAU athletic director Patrick Chun on Oct. 30, but was told by Chun that it was "irrelevant" because he was "being relieved" of his duties "for failure to supervise my staff."

Pelini indicated Chun told him at least one staff member admitted using drugs in the coach's presence, but Pelini denied knowledge that "any staff member was using illegal drugs." Chun told ESPN on Thursday that he has seen that text message from Pelini to Edwards and that he stands by his statements from last week and he has "ample evidence" that was presented to each coach

Pelini said he denied using illegal drugs to Chun and offered to take a drug test.

According to Pelini, Chun said Pelini's "denial of illegal drug use was irrelevant because I was being relieved of my duties for failure to supervise my staff." Pelini said he "had recently become aware of a personal relationship between a staff member and a person close to the athletic department. The relationship, to my knowledge, did not involve illegal drug use or any other illegal activity."

FAU defensive line coach Matt Edwards and Allison Stewart, who Chun called a "personal friend" of the coaches, both indicated in notarized affidavits that they observed Pelini smoking marijuana during a three-day coaches trip to Key West on Oct. 18-20. Edwards also stated he witnessed Pelini and Rekstis use cocaine within the past year. Stewart also said in her affidavit that, on Oct. 20, she received a text message from Pelini on admitting to drug use.