Minnesota State Football Coach: Todd Hoffner Returns To Coaching Job At Mankato After Career Has Been Derailed By Charges Of Child Pornography

Minnesota State Football Coach: Todd Hoffner is reclaiming his job at Minnesota State-Mankato. The football coach announced Tuesday that he will return to the job after an arbitrator ruled he was wrongfully terminated.

According to USA Today, the coach was fired for charges of child pornography.

"Hoffner was suspended from his job as head football coach in August 2012 after naked images of his children was found on his school-issued cellphone. He was arrested several days later and faced felony charges.  A judge dismissed the charges three months later, saying the videos depicted only innocent images of children acting playful after a bath. But even after the dismissal, he was reassigned by the school and later fired," stated on a report in USA Today.

Hoffner called the accusations the "most ridiculous things I've ever heard in my life."

In January, Hoffner was hired as the head coach at Minot (N.D.) State. He said he would be "forever grateful" to the North Dakota school for hiring him when he thought he might never coach again. But last week, an arbitrator ruled Hoffner had been wrongly fired by Minnesota State-Mankato and could return to the job if he wanted it, report says.

In a news conference, Hoffner said, "I believe that resuming my duties as head football coach will help heal that injury." It took him several breaks to compose himself. He said the last two years have been a "nightmare," but that he always wanted to coach at Minnesota State, Mankato, AP reported.

"My family lives there, we have roots there, I helped grow the program to a national power. I'm not interested in revenge. I'm not a spiteful person," he said, but added that the situation could have been handled differently.

According to AP, Hoffner's supporters said the school overreacted in the wake of the sex abuse scandal at Penn State, noting his high-profile arrest came just months after retired Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted of child sex abuse.

"Two years ago I sat in a jail cell overnight in an orange jumpsuit wondering why. First there was shock, then there was fear, then there was anger and ... I pulled myself together. We had unwavering support from a lot of people," Hoffner said.

An arbitrator ruled in Hoffner's favour last Thursady, and said he should be rehired and repaid for the 20-day suspension and for the time since he was fired, USA Today stated.

According to the report, the arbitrator also ruled if Hoffner decided not to return to the job, Minnesota State-Mankato would have to pay the difference in salary for the life of the four-year contract it once had with him. He was making $90,000 at Minot State and about $105,000 at Minnesota State-Mankato.

Hoffner said, "I wish I didn't have to make this decision and I hope everyone understands the timing was not of my choosing. From Day 1, I wanted my job back."