David Reaves

Five days after his hiring was officially announced by the Oregon Ducks, co-offensive coordinator David Reaves is in the process of being fired after his arrest early Sunday on charges of DUII, reckless driving and reckless endangerment.

"Reaves has been placed on administrative leave and the process to terminate his employment with cause has commenced," UO athletic director Rob Mullens said in a statement. "The University has high standards for the conduct of employees and is addressing this matter with the utmost of seriousness."

The 38-year-old Reaves, who also was set to coach tight ends for the Ducks and carried the title of passing game coordinator under new coach Willie Taggart, was stopped at 2:12 a.m. Sunday with a passenger in downtown Eugene after "multiple traffic violations," according to Eugene police. 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.

Reaves left after posting bail at 9:52 a.m., according to jail records. He must appear Jan. 25 in Eugene Municipal Court.

No UO recruits or current student-athletes were in the car with Reaves at the time of his arrest, UO senior associate athletic director Craig Pintens said.

Reaves, who was on a two-year contract worth $300,000 annually, was to share offensive coordinator duties with offensive line coach Mario Cristobal. A former three-year starting quarterback at Appalachian State, Reaves had previously worked at stops such as South Carolina, Tennessee, New Mexico and the IMG Academy before joining Taggart at South Florida in 2013.

He called the plays during the Bulls' Dec. 29 Birmingham Bowl victory.

Reaves' contract allows Oregon to discipline him or terminate his contract for cause for "any material violation of local, state or federal law," among other factors.

His arrest and expected firing follows a tumultuous week for Oregon, which suspended new football strength and conditioning coach Irele Oderinde on Tuesday for a month without pay, while also including a formal apology on behalf of Taggart, after three UO players were injured during offseason workouts last week and hospitalized for several days. All three have since been released.

The arrest also came at the end of a critical weekend for Ducks recruiting, with just days left before recruits are allowed to sign letters of intent Feb. 1. Coaches are using the weekends before that date to make their final push, and this weekend they hosted seven, high-profile recruits. That group included a player that one service rated as the country's No. 1 "athlete."

As part of Tennessee's staff in 2009 under Lane Kiffin -- Reaves' former brother-in-law -- Reaves was one of several Volunteers staffers to draw the scrutiny of the NCAA. 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.

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com