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adam ritenberg
Art Briles is set to become the next coach at Division II program Eastern New Mexico as he returns to college football after nearly a decade, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Sunday night.
Briles, 69, has not worked at a college program since being fired as Baylor head coach in 2016 following a review of the university’s handling of sexual assault allegations made against several football players. He has since coached for Guelfi Firenze in the Italian Football League and Mount Vernon High School in Texas from 2019 to 2020.
In 2022, Grambling State attempted to hire Briles as offensive coordinator, but after backlash, he told the school just four days later that he would not pursue the role, saying he did not want to distract the team. A similar situation occurred in 2017 with the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who tried to hire Brills, but then withdrew their offer the same day amid backlash.
Eastern New Mexico athletic director Kevin Fite served as the associate athletic director for compliance and eligibility at Houston when Briles served as the school’s head coach. Briles, who built his reputation as an offensive innovator in Texas high schools before entering the college ranks, went 99-65 as coach at Baylor and Houston with three conference titles. He led Baylor to 10 or more wins in four of his final five seasons.
Several months after being fired from Baylor, Briles apologized in an interview with ESPN for what happened under his watch at the program.
He then said, “I understand that I have made some mistakes and for that I am sorry.” “But I’m not trying to plead for people’s sympathy. I’m just saying, ‘Hey, I made some mistakes. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I’m going to learn. I’m going to do better.'”
In 2023, a federal judge ruled that Briles was not negligent in a case involving a female Baylor student who reported being physically assaulted by one of the school’s football players in 2014. Briles, who led Baylor’s program from 2008 to 2015, received a $15.1 million settlement from Baylor, which fired him with eight years remaining on his contract.
Mark Berman, former sports director of KRIV Fox 26 in Houston, first reported the news of Briles’ hiring in Eastern New Mexico.
