Report: Todd Downing arrested for DUI early Friday morning

Posted by Mike Florio on November 18, 2022, 9:40 AM EST
Tennessee Titans v Houston Texans
Getty Images

The Titans had reasons to celebrate last night’s win over the Packers. One member of the coaching staff allegedly celebrated a little too much.

Via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, offensive coordinator Todd Downing was arrested early Friday morning for DUI.

Per the information posted by McCormick, Downing was booked at 4:39 a.m. CT. Per McCormick, Downing was pulled over at 3:49 a.m. CT.

We’ve asked the Titans when their plane from Green Bay landed. Based on a review of the records available at FlightAware.com, a Delta flight left Green Bay at 12:15 a.m. CT and landed in Nashville at 2:11 a.m. CT.

The incident raises obvious questions about when and where Downing consumed alcohol. The NFL has very strict rules regarding teams making alcohol available to players and coaches. If (and at this point it’s only an “if”) Downing was drinking on the plane (and/or in the team facility after the coaching staff returned), that could be a real problem for the Titans.

Permalink 65 Comments Feed for comments Back to top

65 responses to “Report: Todd Downing arrested for DUI early Friday morning”

  1. “The incident raises obvious questions about when and where Downing consumed alcohol.”

    I mean a person can get pretty toasted in a couple hours, just saying.

  3. This will thankfully put an end to the “party planes” on the way home after celebrating a victory.

  4. Why he may have called 1 of his better games last night, his clock management at times is horrific.

  7. It just never ceases to amaze me how financially well off people continue to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking when there are so many options available to them to get where they want to go safely. So stupid.

  8. Heinicke was drinking Busch on the plane home from their last game and there was no concerns about drinking on the plane there. So what is the difference between that and this (besides the over indulgence)?

  9. It’s not as easy as you think. Live on my area or parts of Tennessee your lucky to find a uber lyft between 9pm-6am

    inozwetrust says:
    November 18, 2022 at 9:49 am
    It just never ceases to amaze me how financially well off people continue to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking when there are so many options available to them to get where they want to go safely. So stupid

  10. @inozwetrust It is worse than that. There is a free (paid for by the NFL/NFLPA) limo system for players who are unsafe to drive (I assume it extends to coaches) Alcohol makes you stupid. Stupid is and stupid does.

  12. inozwetrust says:
    November 18, 2022 at 9:49 am
    It just never ceases to amaze me how financially well off people continue to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking when there are so many options available to them to get where they want to go safely. So stupid.

    ——————–

    It’s amazing, isn’t it? To risk your career, lose money, possibly kill someone, etc. Ubers, arranged drivers for wealthy NFL employees, etc are all available.

    If I was a coach, anyone who drinks on the way home, you’re taking team assigned rides home, no neogtiation.

    I mean, the dude had no time to hit some all night bar near the airport in Nashville anyway, so this means he was ripped in front of everyone on the plane. Not a good look for Mike Vrabel either.

  13. A DUI, first time offense where no one got hurt is going to cost you at a minimum, $10,000. More like 20 to 25k when you factor in fines and income lost to community service etc.

    An uber or taxi from the airport is like $50, maybe $100 if you live farther from the airport.

    Plus the NFL has a free rideshare service so there’s no excuse for this. Someone could have died. Grow up.

  14. Understand that there’s a big difference between DUI and DWI. DUI can be as little as 2 drinks. Whereas DWI is drunk. He was probably caught in a random checkpoint, and was not pulled over for any sort of observable traffic offense.

  15. Uber/Lift is safe. And relatively inexpensive when you potential consequences/cost of the alternative.

    Use your head people.

  16. Beating the Packers is hardly a big reason to go overboard on the celebrations. You could probably take a bunch of guys off the street and still beat that dumpster fire.

  17. 250 million annually from Budweiser…nothing will happen.

    The NFL will do absolutely anything for money. Anything. Accept it.

  18. look what happened to Bret Reid. People fail to understand that getting behind the wheel intoxicated can not only harm you but harm innocent people out there.

  20. Why do people need to chemically alter their brain with drugs or alcohol to “feel good” about themselves?

  22. You guys were just talking about this on PFT Live, and here is a perfect illustration of your concerns.

  25. acemagee45 says:
    November 18, 2022 at 9:44 am
    “The incident raises obvious questions about when and where Downing consumed alcohol.”

    I mean a person can get pretty toasted in a couple hours, just saying.

    ***************

    These are good points to consider.

    Bars in Tennessee are required to close by 3am. It takes about 20 minutes by car to get from the Nashville airport to the city center. The plane landed at 2:11am. The earliest Downing could have gotten in his car is probably 2:20am if the team got off on the tarmac and had cars parked right nearby. That means Downing could not have gotten inside a Nashville bar and started drinking until 2:40am. That means he would have had to get drunk in 20 minutes if he didn’t drink that day until getting to a bar. Williamson is about 25 minutes from the heart of Nashville. That would mean Downing would have had to leave Nashville by about 3:25am (long after last call) to get arrested in Williamson. All this makes it seem very possible (but not definite) that Downing was drinking on the plane or at the Titans facility.

  26. I’m not sure why this is news. Stupidity infiltrates people in every field but it doesn’t get splashed all over the news. He’ll pay the price, as he should, but why the disparate treatment media-wise because he’s an NFL coach doesn’t make sense to me.

  27. Instead off Titan up, looks like it’s Bottoms up!
    He needs to drink, got the best RB in football and only average 17 points per game! ……Pathetic.
    Titans are posers, beating up on 2 and 3 win teams!

  29. My question is did he really need to celebrate beating the Packers of all teams? I can understand if he needed to drink if they lost. . . . . .

  30. Who cares when and where he consumed alcohol. He broke a public law. He could drink alcohol from his sock while coaching the game for all we care. It doesn’t matter where he drank alcohol.

    All that matters is HE made the decision to go on public roads. No body else made that decision except one guy and his brain. Period. Quit trying to blame others for one guys choices.

  31. Sounds like he kept the party going…landed drove to the corner store and pounded a few on the way home

  33. Flight lands at 2:11am, de-board, load buses, drive to facility, unload buses, pulled over at 3:49am….Yes, of course he was drinking on the plane!

  34. With all the money these teams have I don’t understand why these guys don’t have full-time drivers available to them??

  35. It just never ceases to amaze me how financially well off people continue to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking when there are so many options available to them to get where they want to go safely. So stupid.

    _______________________________________________________________

    I agree. They should allow for private transport of with friends. I understand that the NFL provides this free of charge for all players, but like in “The Handmaids Tale”, they’re “they eyes”, and no one wants the league tracking and reporting on their every move, drink, etc. But there’s no excuse for not calling an Uber or just hiring a limo for the night!

  38. When you hire your drinking/golfing buddies instead of the best available coach… don’t be surprised when this kind of foolishness happens.

  39. Why do these stories all go back to “teams aren’t supposed to have alcohol”. Are we to believe adults don’t drink after successful events? I don’t care if it’s a rule, it’s a dumb rule, and shouldn’t be expected to be followed. Or held up as to say “the rules say”…. Adults have responsibilities without having to have rules spelled out for them. If they fail in those responsibilities, there are repercussions. Just ask Henry Ruggs.

  40. C. M. says:
    November 18, 2022 at 10:02 am
    It’s not as easy as you think. Live on my area or parts of Tennessee your lucky to find a uber lyft between 9pm-6am

    C. M. says:
    November 18, 2022 at 10:04 am
    The time of release shows that his bac level was not high.
    _____________

    You are trying really hard to make excuses for Downing.

  41. All the virtuous commenters. Do we know what his BA level even was? You can be given a dui for smelling like alcohol he could have been given a champagne shower and smelled like a winery nobody knows yet so how about we get more facts before lecturing us all on how irresponsible it is to drink and drive any idiot already knows that.

  42. Media reporters should be at every flight landing after a win. Let’s see who’s drunk coming off the plane.

  43. HagemeisterPark says:
    November 18, 2022 at 10:46 am
    Who cares when and where he consumed alcohol. He broke a public law. He could drink alcohol from his sock while coaching the game for all we care. It doesn’t matter where he drank alcohol.

    All that matters is HE made the decision to go on public roads. No body else made that decision except one guy and his brain. Period. Quit trying to blame others for one guys choices.
    __________

    Absolutely no one is trying to blame others. There are NFL rules about consuming alcohol at team facilities and on team flights. I assume that you support adhering to those rules.

  47. “Understand that there’s a big difference between DUI and DWI. DUI can be as little as 2 drinks. Whereas DWI is drunk.”

    DUI and DWI are functionally identical. DWI typically indicates intoxication with a drug other than alcohol, but the penalties for DUI and SWI are the same.

  48. Heh. So Taylor Heinicke downing that Busch Light on the flight home from Philly was a no no then?

  49. gibson45 says:

    Absolutely no one is trying to blame others. There are NFL rules about consuming alcohol at team facilities and on team flights. I assume that you support adhering to those rules.
    —————
    Why shouldn’t you be able to drink at team facilities? You can go to a bar and drink. A restaurant and drink. A hotel and drink. There is no difference where it goes down your throat. Its personal responsibility to stay below legal limit behind the wheel – not the NFL’s – no matter where you choose to drink a beer.

  51. I’m not certain but I know for Packer players, they are given a phone number to call and they get a ride home for free so there shouldn’t be any excuse for DWI’s. For the money these guys make, you would think Uber or Lyft are options.

    I can’t even feel the least bit sorry for this guy, he made a mistake and now he illl have to pay handsomely for it.

  52. Who’s to say downing doesn’t have some bottles in his office and took some rips before driving home. As for the bars they stop letting you in at 3 but most stay open until 4. And if you know someone at the bar you just walk in the back door. More facts need to come out but honestly the only one to blame here is downing if he was over the limit.

    Titans fans want this dude fired and have since last season. So I don’t think this incident is breaking anyones heart in Nashville. The chants will only get louder now

  53. johnthorpe says:
    November 18, 2022 at 10:07 am
    A DUI, first time offense where no one got hurt is going to cost you at a minimum, $10,000. More like 20 to 25k when you factor in fines and income lost to community service etc
    ////
    Not really. A first time offender can plead guilty and get by way cheaper with no attorney. Insurance rates will certainly cost you over the long haul. Most people don’t have $20-25k, so that certainly can’t be the average cost.

  54. acemagee45 says:
    November 18, 2022 at 9:44 am

    “The incident raises obvious questions about when and where Downing consumed alcohol.”

    I mean a person can get pretty toasted in a couple hours, just saying.

    ***************************
    Right, but the question wasn’t “How quickly can a person get drunk?”
    It was “Did he get drunk on the Plane or at the Titans facility.”

    If it was at a bar, then it has Team responsibility actions, just implications for his own legal issues and oversight of him as an employee making stupid decisions.

  55. acemagee45 says:
    November 18, 2022 at 9:44 am

    “The incident raises obvious questions about when and where Downing consumed alcohol.”

    I mean a person can get pretty toasted in a couple hours, just saying.

    ***************************
    Right, but the question wasn’t “How quickly can a person get drunk?”
    It was “Did he get drunk on the Plane or at the Titans facility.”

    If it was at a bar, then it has NO Team liability/responsibility implications, just implications for his own legal issues and oversight of him as an employee making stupid decisions.

  56. inozwetrust says:
    November 18, 2022 at 9:49 am
    It just never ceases to amaze me how financially well off people continue to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking when there are so many options available to them to get where they want to go safely. So stupid. ————————————————————
    Why? Money doesn`t make people smarter. It amazes me that the people act like players, actors and especially coaches are any different than the rest of society just because you know their names. The percentage of people who drink and havn`t at some point driven while over the legal limit is very small. Most are lucky enough to not get caught. It doesn`t make them smarter or dumber just luckier. It is a society problem not a NFL problem or rich person problem.

  57. People asking how he managed to get plastered so quickly, but I didn’t notice anybody asking if he has a drinking problem. Might actually be something he’s been hiding from the team and just now got caught. I also didn’t see where it said anything about his BAC. What if it wasn’t booze? Or worse yet, a mix?

  58. Please fire this guy today if possible. No way this needs to be tolerated. Send a message that this kind of behaviour isnt okay.

  59. There was never a free ride service for players or coaches. There was an 800 number available to only players on the back of their NFLPA cards. Cost started at $90 one way, obviously way cheaper than drinking and driving related alternatives. But wouldn’t have been available to Downing. Beyond that the service hasn’t been around since 2019 because the NFL deemed it no longer needed with the popularity of Lyft/Uber.

  60. Britt Reid was hammered leaving the Chiefs facility when he critically injured that little girl. Still waiting to hear where, cough cough, he got his alcohol from.

  61. They had a great game, so it’s understandable that he might celebrate a little. But be smart enough to have a ride waiting for you when you get back.

  62. Grown men. Personal responsibility. Not babies. There’s no boogeyman. Why does there always have to be a boogeyman? I don’t understand. It’s silly. Oh, I get it. We’re a bunch of babies, so we think everyone should be treated like a baby. Is that it?

  63. redlikethepig says:
    November 18, 2022 at 10:09 am
    Understand that there’s a big difference between DUI and DWI. DUI can be as little as 2 drinks. Whereas DWI is drunk. He was probably caught in a random checkpoint, and was not pulled over for any sort of observable traffic offense__________________
    You have no idea what you’re talking about. Read Tennessee law and get back to us

  64. HagemeisterPark says:
    November 18, 2022 at 11:30 am
    gibson45 says:

    Absolutely no one is trying to blame others. There are NFL rules about consuming alcohol at team facilities and on team flights. I assume that you support adhering to those rules.
    —————
    Why shouldn’t you be able to drink at team facilities? You can go to a bar and drink. A restaurant and drink. A hotel and drink. There is no difference where it goes down your throat. Its personal responsibility to stay below legal limit behind the wheel – not the NFL’s – no matter where you choose to drink a beer.
    _____________

    Absolutely no one is saying that the NFL, or any other person or entity, is responsible for Downing’s actions.

    There is certainly is a difference as to where alcohol is concerned. Does your employer allow employees to drink at the workplace? Are you allowed to drink at your child’s elementary school?

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.