The man at the helm of the Oklahoma State Cowboys needs to work on his steering.
Payne County prosecutors formally charged OSU coach Eddie Sutton with driving under the influence on Saturday, stemming from a Feb. 11 accident in which his Dodge Durango veered across four lanes of traffic, into the back of another car, and then into a tree.
The 69-year-old Sutton had a blood-alcohol level of .22, nearly triple the legal limit in the state of Oklahoma. Sutton was on his way to Stillwater Airport on Friday night to catch the team's flight to play the Texas A&M Aggies.
He has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the university, and his assistant coach and son Sean is set to temporarily take over the program. The move fits in with the long-term plan for the Cowboys, as Sutton's contract stipulates that his son will succeed him as head coach.
The university has only issued a short statement regarding Sutton's situation, light on details and evasive in tone, and has yet to make any decisions regarding the future of the legendary coach.
"After a careful and thorough review of the police and [district attorney] reports, we will determine the appropriate approach we should take as it relates to an internal review," the statement read. "Coach Sutton has taken the right steps to address his problem. Once he has completed treatment, we will meet with him to discuss his future, but right now the most important thing is for him to get healthy."
Sutton, in a statement released Friday, cited hip and back pain for his return to alcohol abuse. He has suffered chronic pain since breaking his tailbone in five places when jumping into a ditch to avoid a reckless driver's vehicle in September 2004.
"The pain at times literally has been unbearable," Sutton said. "Last Friday, the pain was so bad that I took a lot of pain pills, but that didn't seem to work, so I succumbed to temptation, and went and bought a bottle."
The support for Sutton following the incident has been overwhelming. Individuals, including his current and former players and coaches around the country, have publicly praised him and offered well-wishes. Oklahoma Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson said he has "never coached against a better coach," and hoped Sutton would return to the OSU bench. Freshman guard Terrel Harris summarized the sentiment in the locker room as "do this for Coach Sutton."
This is not Sutton's first problem with alcohol abuse. While he was coach of the Kentucky Wildcats in 1987, he underwent treatment at the Betty Ford Center. However, until now, he has had no additional stays at clinics or visible problems with alcohol. Sutton, an Oklahoma State graduate, coached the Creighton Bluejays, Arkansas Razorbacks and Kentucky before he took the helm at his alma mater in time for the 1990-91 season. He was very outspoken about his problems with alcohol when he became coach at Oklahoma State.
Over his 35-year coaching career, Sutton is fifth all-time in wins among Div. I coaches with 794, trailing only Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Bob Knight and Jim Phelan. His 39 NCAA Tournament wins is tops among coaches who have never won a national championship. Despite his leave of absence, Sutton can still gain ground in the record books, as the wins and losses of the team will count toward his record because of an NCAA rule that allows a team to decide before a game how the results will be counted.
The Cowboys are 1-2 in the three games since Sutton's incident, suffering back-to-back losses to the Aggies and then at home against the Kansas Jayhawks. However, they scored a huge upset on Sunday afternoon, blowing out the sixth-ranked Texas Longhorns 81-60.
