Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing was arrested for driving while under the influence when the team returned home to Nashville early Friday morning, and the timing of the incident has raised one serious question for the NFL.
The Titans flew back to Nashville late Thursday night following their 27-17 road win over the Green Bay Packers. According to police records, Downing was stopped for speeding at 3:49 a.m. CT. He was then arrested and charged with DUI. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, the Titans’ team plane landed in Nashville at 2:11 a.m. CT.
NFL rules prohibit alcohol on team planes and buses. Assuming Downing was, in fact, intoxicated, only one of two things can be true — he drank alcohol before and/or immediately after the Titans landed in Nashville, or he drank on the team’s plane and/or bus from the airport.
In an email to PFT, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy reiterated that league rules prohibit alcohol on team planes and buses. He said NFL officials have been in contact with the Titans and are investigating the situation.
“We have been in contact with the Titans regarding the matter which will be reviewed,” McCarthy said. “All league and club personnel, including coaches, are subject to potential discipline when a violation is determined to have been committed.”
The NFL may enforce their no-alcohol policy more seriously now after what happened with Andy Reid’s son Britt last year. The former Kansas City Chiefs assistant was on his way home from the team’s facility when he crashed his car and left a young girl with brain injuries. Britt pleaded guilty in September to DUI and was recently sentenced to prison time.
