High school coach denies report he hired Ray Rice

Contradicting an earlier report, head coach Mike Teel says he did not hire Ray Rice.

The head coach of a New Jersey high school has denied that he hired Ray Rice to coach running backs, contradicting an earlier report by ESPN. 

Don Bosco Prep head coach Mike Teel tells CBS Philly’s Brandon Longo that Rice has not taken the job. ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported earlier Monday that Rice had been hired as the school’s running backs coach. 

Officials at the school have denied Rice has been hired, according to local newspaper The Record.

Don Bosco’s longtime coach, Greg Toal, retired in February and was replaced by Teel, a former Rutgers quarterback. Rice and Teel played together for three seasons with the Scarlet Knights. 

Rice, 30, had attempted to return to the NFL following his much-publicized domestic violence case but never got as much as a workout with an NFL team. He said last month that he was still physically capable of playing in the NFL and that the reason he is no longer in the league “ain't because I'm a bad football player.”

Rice was indicted on one count of third-degree aggravated assault in March 2014 and had the charges dropped two months later after completing a pretrial intervention program. In September, TMZ posted security footage of Rice punching his then-fiancée, Janay Palmer, in an Atlantic City elevator. He was released the same day the video emerged.