Oregon to fire ex-USF football assistant David Reaves after DUI arrest

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon co-offensive coordinator David Reaves, who joined the Ducks with Willie Taggart from USF, will be fired after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, the school said Sunday, marking the latest problem for the Pac-12 team under new coach Taggart.

Reaves, 38, was placed on administrative leave and the process to fire him had started, the school said. Oregon announced his hiring Tuesday.

The move came less than a week after the school suspended football strength and conditioning coach Irele Oderinde, who also joined the Ducks from USF with Taggart, for a month without pay after an intense workout sent three players to the hospital.

Reaves who was stopped at 2:12 a.m. Pacific time Sunday with a passenger in Eugene after "multiple traffic violations," police said. The responding officer suspected Reaves was impaired, and after an investigation, Reaves was charged and booked at Lane County jail at 5:18 a.m., police said.

Reaves left after posting bail at 9:52 a.m., jail records said. He must appear Wednesday in Eugene Municipal Court.

The passenger was not identified. No recruits or current players were in the car with Reaves, senior associate athletic director Craig Pintens told the Portland Oregonian.

Reaves was on a two-year contract worth $300,000 annually and was to share offensive coordinator duties with offensive line coach Mario Cristobal as well as coach tight ends and have the title of passing game coordinator.

At USF, where he joined Taggart in 2013, Reaves called the plays during the Bulls' Dec. 29 Birmingham Bowl victory over South Carolina.

Reaves is a Tampa native. His father, John, was a star quarterback at Robinson High and then Florida, and was a first-round draft pick (14th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1972.

David Reaves was a standout quarterback at Spring Valley High in Columbia, S.C., graduating in 1997, and then was a three-year starting quarterback at Appalachian State. He was an assistant coach at Tampa Catholic in 2001 before getting his first college job at South Carolina the next year.

Reaves was with the Gamecocks through 2008, the final four years under Steve Spurrier, before he joined then-brother-in-law Lane Kiffin at Tennessee in 2009.

At Tennessee, Reaves was one of several Volunteers staff members to draw NCAA scrutiny. In 2010, ESPN reported that the NCAA had questioned Reaves about the use of Tennessee's hostess program in recruiting. In 2011, when Reaves was the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at New Mexico, the NCAA accused him of requesting that others make impermissible contact by telephone with recruits. One year later, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions ruled that Kiffin's Tennessee staff committed a dozen secondary violations but no major infractions.