Big 12 Football: Art Briles could really return to FBS coaching soon

The Big 12 football conference might soon see the return of the former Baylor Bears head coach Art Briles, potentially getting hired with a different team.

It may be hard to believe for some, but there are football programs that are interested in going after the former Baylor Bears head coach Art Briles to take over for their staffs. According to a report from the Star-Telegram on Dec. 11, there is a growing level of support within the Texas Tech Red Raiders football program and administration for a potential hire of Briles. That is very close to the Texas Longhorns, since they would once again be facing Briles with a Big 12 football foe.

Baylor parted ways with Briles following a scandal back in 2016. The last season that he was Baylor’s head coach was in 2015. Former Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Jim Grobe took over for Briles after that controversy entering the 2016. Since the departure of Briles, Baylor has now gone through three different head coaches.

In between current head coach (and former LSU Tigers defensive coordinator) Dave Aranda and Grobe was the current Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule. Last season, Rhule took Baylor to their first ever Big 12 Championship Game and led them to a Sugar Bowl appearance, where they fell short against head coach Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs.

But there was news on the high school football coaching carousel on Dec. 14, with the report (confirmed by ESPN) that Briles resigned from the Mount Vernon football staff. He was their head coach for the last two years.

His resignation from the Mount Vernon job comes amid rumors that he could be next in line to take the Liberty Flames head coaching job if Hugh Freeze leaves that program. Texas Tech and Liberty both appear to be in line to at least see what Briles can bring to the table for them.

Moreover, considering Freeze was brought back into the college football coaching ranks after his controversy that happened back with the Ole Miss Rebels in 2017, the Briles support isn’t too surprising. Briles did have a few other coaching jobs since getting let go from Baylor.

This still doesn’t mean that a potential return to FBS coaching so soon after the BAylor controversy would be welcome by everyone. It was not all that long ago that he was in the midst of this Baylor scandal that shook both the Big 12 and the college football landscape as a whole.

The reactions from various voices around the college football landscape amid these Briles coaching rumors were very telling. But there are also various reports going back almost two years about how a lot of the Baylor administration felt that Briles would be “exonerated”.

Maybe Briles will soon land another coaching job, whether it be with Texas Tech, Liberty, or someone else that has an opening in the near future at head coach. He certainly was successful in his last three years or four years at Baylor on the field (three straight double-digit win seasons before his tenure ended).

Briles went 65-37 (.637 winning percentage) during his eight year tenure as Baylor’s head coach. He also registered a record of 34-28 (.548 winning percentage) during his five years as the Houston Cougars head coach, prior to taking the Baylor job in the 2000’s.