Joe Cullen Can’t Remember The Time He Did That Memorably Embarrassing Thing

Most NFL fans would struggle to name even a few defensive line coaches in the NFL. For those who are familiar with Joe Cullen, the man who recently assumed that role in Jacksonville, it has nothing to do with his job. No, Cullen is known primarily among fans as the former Lions assistant who was charged for driving naked in a Wendy’s drive-thru the night before a preseason game in 2006.↵One would naturally assume, unless he had a freak exhibitionist streak to him, that there was an underlying problem to the incident that he’s still trying to shake. And indeed, Cullen has struggled with drinking problems for some time. In fact, he can’t recall anything about the first and most notorious in a series of incidents that got him fined $20,000 by the NFL and suspended for a game.↵↵⇥“Well, it’s simple; it’s called a blackout, so I don’t know,” Cullen said. “When you have a blackout, bang. You realize through being educated [about alcohol consumption] 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.”↵↵↵He still deals with the shame of that episode, along with another from 2005 when, after being hired as a coach at Ole Miss, he was cited for public drunkenness for falling asleep while waiting for an order at a sandwich shop. But it’s not like the drive-through incident spelled the end of his career: Cullen stayed on with the Lions through 2008, a period during which he undertook a league-sponsored alcohol rehabilitation outpatient program, as well as Alcoholics Anonymous classes twice a week per his plea agreement in Michigan.↵

↵↵For all intents and purposes, the guy has moved on. His public image will be inextricably linked with a Wendy’s drive-thru, however, for as long as he’s still in the league. But given where his life may have gone, he can be thankful that the worst he has to deal with is playful mocking at his expense.↵

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