Ole Miss reaches settlement with former assistant coach

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July 20, 2005
Ole Miss reaches settlement with former assistant coach


Financial agreement will keep Cullen from filing wrongful termination suit

By Michael Wallace
mwallace@clarionledger.com



Cullen


OXFORD — Former Ole Miss assistant football coach Joe Cullen has reached a financial settlement with Ole Miss that appears to end his feud with the school four months after his arrest and dismissal for public drunkenness.

The agreement will keep Cullen from moving forward with plans to file a civil suit accusing the university of wrongful termination, Cullen's Oxford attorney, Mike Wall, said Tuesday.

The two sides agreed to the settlement a month after the state College Board denied Cullen's $434,000 wrongful termination claim against Ole Miss.
"All I can say is we got it resolved," Wall said Tuesday. "And both parties are happy with the outcome."

Throughout the legal sparring, Ole Miss officials had said they would pay Cullen the $64,356 he was to earn on his initial six-month contract that would have expired last month.

On Tuesday, Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone maintained that stance in a statement he released through the school's sports information office.

"We are pleased that this matter has been settled," Boone said in the statement. "The University of Mississippi had always been willing to honor Mr. Cullen's contract. We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Boone declined to comment further when reached in his office Tuesday.

Neither Wall nor Ole Miss officials would discuss details of the settlement, including the amount the university has agreed to pay Cullen. Cullen was dismissed from coach Ed Orgeron's staff on March 11, eight days after the defensive line coach was arrested at a Subway sandwich shop for public drunkenness.

Cullen, 37, was convicted of the misdemeanor charge in Oxford Municipal Court on June 8 and ordered to pay a $182 fine. Cullen had claimed Orgeron initially told him his job was safe, but fired him a week later after the arrest was reported in newspapers.

Cullen was one of the first assistants hired after Orgeron replaced David Cutcliffe in December. He was one of two assistants to leave the program after an alcohol-related arrest last spring.

Wall said Cullen has moved to Illinois to resume his coaching career.