During the past few seasons, the Detroit Lions have been infamous for making all the wrong headlines and having numerous games to forget. Their former defensive line coach, Joe Cullen, appears to have mastered both arts.
In August, 2006, Cullen was involved in a pair of alcohol-related incidents. The more notable one involved his trek through a Wendy's drive-through in Dearborn, MI, while naked. But on Wednesday, Cullen told the Florida Times-Union that he doesn't remember that embarrassment.
"Well, it's simple; it's called a blackout," Cullen explained to the Times-Union. "When you have a blackout, bang. You realize, being educated [about alcohol abuse] that you drink too much. I'm sure there's a lot of incidents out there where people don't remember a thing they did the night when they were drinking. That's basically what happened."
Cullen wasn't fired by then-Lions head coach Rod Marinelli, and instead was sent to an outpatient alcohol rehab program while staying on Marinelli's staff until his boss was dismissed on Dec. 26, 2008.
Thanks to the support of Marinelli and commissioner Roger Goodell, the 42-year-old Cullen now has a chance at redemption. He was hired to join the Jacksonville Jaguars' coaching staff and will now serve under Jack Del Rio.
