Joe Cullen (American football)

Joe Cullen (born December 15, 1967) is an American football coach who is the defensive line coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Cullen was a four-year starting nose guard at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he started 45 straight games. He was a three-time All-Yankee Conference selection and was the Minutemen's team MVP in 1989.

He graduated from UMass in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in sports management. He spent a year as a graduate assistant there before becoming a position coach.

Career
Cullen's first coaching job was in 1992-98 at the University of Richmond. He coached the defensive line at LSU in 1999 and at the University of Memphis in 2001. From 2002-03 he was Indiana University's defensive line coach and in 2004 was promoted to defensive coordinator. He was at the University of Illinois in 2005.

Cullen broke into the National Football League in 2006 as a defensive line coach for the Detroit Lions. Under Cullen, four different Lions players recorded career-high sack numbers.

Cullen was out of the NFL in 2009 and coached the defensive line at Idaho State. He returned to the league with the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line coach in 2010-12. Under Cullen, the Jaguars overall ranked sixth in yards allowed and fifth in yards per carry.

Cullen spent 2013 with the Cleveland Browns. The Browns recorded 41 sacks and allowed 3.9 yards a carry that season. Both were the best the franchise had done in the previous 18 years. In 2014-15 Cullen coached the defensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under Lovie Smith. Over those two seasons, the Bucs ranked seventh in combined sacks and tackles for loss. In 2016, Cullen joined the Baltimore Ravens, where he oversees the defensive line.

Personal Life
Cullen was fired shortly after his hire at the University of Mississippi after being charged with drunk and disorderly conduct after passing out in a local Subway.

Cullen was arrested in 2006 for driving under the influence as the defensive line coach of the Detroit Lions. In another incident, also during the 2006 pre-season, he was arrested after he drove through a Wendy's drive-thru naked. He was fined $20,000 and suspended for one game by the NFL for "conduct detrimental to the league" and sentenced by a judge to 10 days of community service and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.