Art Briles returning to college football as Grambling State coordinator

Thursday, February 24, 2022
For the first time since being fired by Baylor for his role in mishandling sexual assault allegations on campus, Art Briles is a college football coach again.

Briles has been hired as the offensive coordinator at Grambling State. A school official confirmed the hire to ABC13.

Briles, who served as University of Houston head football coach from 2003-2007, was fired by Baylor in 2016 after an external investigation revealed the university had for years failed to properly respond to numerous sexual assault allegations by students - including some against football players.

In 2011, an NCAA committee ruled Briles was not guilty of any NCAA violations but ruled he had an "incurious attitude toward potential criminal conduct," which was "troubling." Briles later acknowledged making mistakes and apologized for "some bad things" that happened under his watch. However, until now he had yet to land another college job.

Grambling State legend Doug Williams, a former head coach and star quarterback at the school, told ABC13 he's "disappointed" in the hire. Williams, the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, who later coached Grambling to four SWAC titles, told ABC13 he will not support his alma mater as long as Briles is on staff. "I can't do it," Williams said.

When asked if he'd support GSU if they moved from Briles, he declined to get into hypotheticals.

"I've gotten so many calls from people talking about this hire. It's disappointing," said Williams.

Briles coached briefly in Italy and then at Mount Vernon High School in Texas. While at Baylor, Briles led the Bears to a pair of Big 12 Conference titles.

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