Michael Haywood charges dropped

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- An Indiana judge has dismissed a domestic battery charge against former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood, who served briefly as Pittsburgh's head football coach before the case led to his firing.

A St. Joseph Superior Court judge dismissed the charges Friday after determining Haywood had completed all terms of a pre-trial diversion program that included counseling and community service, the county prosecutor's office said.

The state had agreed to dismiss its case if Haywood completed the terms by this month.

The 47-year-old Haywood was charged with felony domestic battery and misdemeanor domestic violence after he allegedly attacked his son's 38-year-old mother at Haywood's Indiana home. Both counts were dismissed Friday.

Haywood admitted that he grabbed the woman and that she was hurt when she ran from him. The woman said she never wanted Haywood arrested or prosecuted though she had called 911.

Haywood had recently been hired as Pittsburgh's head football coach when the Dec. 31, 2010, incident occurred. The school fired him the next day.

"He is relieved to have it all behind him and to be able to move forward with the rest of his life," Haywood's attorney, Andre Gammage, told the South Bend Tribune. Haywood did not appear at the hearing.

Haywood, who lives in Houston, is working for an oil company in Texas but remains close to football and plans to "get back into it," Gammage told the newspaper. Haywood completed his community service at a Texas church, he said.

Haywood has filed a lawsuit in Pittsburgh federal court alleging that University of Pittsburgh officials breached their contract and violated federal law when they terminated him.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

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