Former CCU football coaches allege school owes them after early firings
Two former Coastal Carolina University assistant football coaches are suing the school after being terminated earlier this year.
Craig Naivar, former defensive coordinator, and Dan Carrel, former co-defensive coordinator, recently filed the complaints alleging breaches of contract, online court records show. After CCU finished its most recent season with six wins and seven losses, both were fired in January, about a month before their contracts would have otherwise expired, they allege.
Naivar and Carrel are each seeking court judgments to recover monetary damages for the breach, though neither complaint specifies an exact amount.
A CCU spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuits.
Naivar, hired in late 2022, was one of CCU’s highest paid employees, The Sun News previously reported, with nearly $350,000 in annual compensation at the time of his departure. He has since taken a job as special teams coordinator at the University of Arizona, according to the team website.
Carrel, hired in early 2023, had a base salary of $165,000, according to his contract. He is now working in real estate and life insurance underwriting, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Naivar and Carrel were each notified in January by letter that they were being terminated, according to the lawsuits. Each was forced at that time to turn in their keys, cell phone and no longer permitted access to CCU property to fulfill their contractual obligations.
They both had contract agreements through Feb. 28, 2025, they allege, so the letters triggered the early termination clauses within their contracts that require the university to pay damages, which CCU has refused to do despite demands.
