Billable hours is a term that George O'Leary is very familiar with.
The UCF head coach was named in a breach of contract lawsuit filed by former defensive coordinator Paul Ferraro and accused of making racist remarks and creating a hostile work environment, according to a report from USA Today.
Ferraro was hired as defensive coordinator at the school last December, but left just a few months later. In the lawsuit, he alleges he was fired without cause while the school has responded by saying he resigned.
"UCF immediately investigated the allegations Mr. Ferraro made when he abruptly abandoned his job," a UCF spokesman said in a statement. "The university's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office found the allegations to be untrue."
O'Leary is accused in the suit of disparaging African-Americans, calling the NFL a "'Ru-Ru' tribe," and allegedly told assistants to check the gums of certain players. Additionally, the UCF head coach was accused of calling Ferraro a distasteful nickname and permitting bullying in the workplace.
"No longer will I put up with your constant verbal abuse of both our coaching and support staff," an email from Ferraro to O'Leary allegedly said. "Threatening coaches on a regular basis with their jobs and racial slurs mixed in to make a point is wrong."
Ferraro was on O'Leary's staff at Georgia Tech and also made stops at Maine, Rutgers and Bowling Green as a defensive coordinator.
This isn't the first time O'Leary has been a focal point in a lawsuit. In 2008, a player under his watch, Ereck Plancher, died after a UCF workout and it was later revealed that he later carried the sickle-cell trait. The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school and later won a multimillion judgement.
O'Leary has been in Orlando since 2004 and led the Knights to the American Athletic Conference title last season, later upsetting Baylor to win the Fiesta Bowl. UCF is 1-2 to start the season and travel to play Houston on Thursday.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
