Georgia Southern's former co-offensive coordinators have each filed a lawsuit against athletic director Tom Kleinlein, coach Tyson Summers and multiple administrators alleging breach of contract, fraud and tortious interference with contractual negotiations, according to USA Today Sports.
David Dean and Rance Gillespie signed 18-month contracts as co-offensive coordinators with the Eagles in January 2016, but were allegedly pressured into signing new contracts midseason on Nov. 16. The Nov. 16 contract changed the former coordinators’ end dates from June 30, 2017 to Feb. 28, 2017.
Dean refused to sign the Nov. 16 contract three times, according to the lawsuit, but signed the new contract after a call from senior associate athletic director for business operations Jeff Blythe that left Dean with the impression Dean could be fired and his salary and benefits would stop if he did not sign the new contract. Gillespie’s lawsuit made a similar claim, according to USA Today Sports.
The lawsuits allege Summers, Kleinlein, Blythe and director of football operations Cymone George already knew they would be making offensive coaching changes so they “conspired to change the terms of the January Contract and specifically the employment end date,” according to USA Today Sports.
Dean and Gillespie’s lawsuits said that convincing the coaches to sign new contracts in November because their January contracts were no longer valid is fraud and conspiracy to defraud. USA Today Sports reports the former coaches are seeking damages including the loss of compensation as well as any interest accrued and legal fees.
In case you missed it
About the Author
