Former Purdue football coach arrested for OWI

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Gerad Parker, former interim coach of Purdue University's football team, was arrested early Tuesday for allegedly driving under the influence.

Parker, 36, was arrested by West Lafayette Police Department on a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle with a BAC of .08 or more, according to a Tippecanoe County Jail booking report.

He was booked into jail just after 1 a.m. and was released on bond the same day.

In a statement posted to his Twitter account, Parker said he was having drinks with his wife and coworkers Monday night and thought he was under the legal limit to drive.

He said he was stopped at 11:30 p.m. for driving the wrong way on a one-way street.

"I'm sorry to all my friends and family," Parker said in a tweet accompanying the statement. "Thanks to all that have reached out and shown support."

Read more: Purdue's to coach running backs at Cincinnati

Parker came to Purdue in 2013 as tight ends coach under former head coach Darrell Hazell. He later served as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.

When Hazell was fired halfway through last season, Parker was promoted to interim head coach. Purdue lost all six games under Parker.

Parker originally was hired in January to coach running backs at Cincinnati. But ESPN reported Tuesday that Parker resigned the job this past week in anticipation of being named wide receivers coach at East Carolina.

It is unclear if his arrest will affect that situation.

Call J&C reporter Joseph Paul at 765-420-5339, email him at jpaul@jconline.com or follow him on Twitter:@JosephPaulJC.

Contributing: Nathan Baird/nbaird@jconline.com