Art Briles was only able to land a high school head coaching job after he was fired by Baylor in 2016 amid a massive scandal, but he may have an opportunity to get back into college football next season.
According to a report from Matt Faye of the Beaumont Enterprise, Briles has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the head coaching job at Lamar University, which is an FCS school in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar announced on Monday that Mike Schultz is leaving the program, so they now have a vacancy at head coach.
Members of Lamar’s athletic fundraising group, known as The Cardinal Club, met this week and discussed potential head coaching candidates. James Patton, the president of the club, confirmed that Briles is a name that “did float around.”
“His name did float around at the meeting today,” Patton said. “It was acknowledged and talked about, but we didn’t specifically dwell on it. He does have a recognizable name that could bring some attention to the university.”
A Lamar spokesperson declined to comment on whether or not the school is actually considering hiring Briles. Another member of the club said “most people just kind of laughed” when Briles was mentioned, and there are some who believe there will be financial obstacles that cannot be overcome.
In addition to possible financial restrictions, Lamar officials should be concerned about negative reaction if they hired Briles. The 62-year-old was fired by Baylor in 2016 after presiding over the football team while multiple players were accused of multiple instances of sexual assault. The school was alleged to have acted inappropriately by either looking the other way or outright covering up the allegations during his tenure. Briles filed a wrongful termination suit against Baylor after his firing and received a settlement.
Briles is currently the head coach at Mount Vernon High School in Texas, and there was already some controversy with him there as well.
H/T Football Scoop
