SPORTS
Art Briles says 'I just want to coach football' and dismisses his critics
David Barron | on July 28, 2019
Photo: LM Otero/Associated Press
FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2015, file photo, Baylor coach Art Briles walks the field before the NCAA college football team's game against Lamar in Waco, Texas. Briles, the former Baylor football coach fired three years ago after an investigation found the school had mishandled allegations of sexual misconduct and violence, has been hired to lead an East Texas high school program. Mount Vernon Superintendent says its board of trustees has approved a two-year contract with Briles, who was 65-37 in eight seasons with Baylor. Before coaching in college, Briles had a successful 20-year career as a high school coach in Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Former Baylor University football coach Art Briles, who was fired in 2016 in the wake of an investigation into sexual assaults at the Baptist school, said Sunday he decided to return to coaching at Mount Vernon High School because coaching "is what I do."
Briles, 63, acknowledged that his return to coaching carries will be viewed as controversial by some but expressed confidence in his experience as a coach and teacher, his ability to learn from events of the past, and his belief that he did nothing at Baylor that would render him unfit for the job.
"I'm a football coach," Briles said. "If you're in the public eye, then you're going to have people who are going to doubt you and maybe not want everything to work out for you personally and professionally.
"But if you know yourself and know your instincts and your integrity, then that's all you can control. I know who I am, and that is a good starting place for me."
Briles was hired May 24 to coach in Mount Vernon, a town of about 2,700 midway between Dallas and Texarkana in Northeast Texas. The high school has about 470 students and competes in Class 3A.
He has not coached in the United States since he was dismissed by Baylor trustees following the completion of a university-sanctioned investigation into Title IX violations that included sexual assaults against students committed by several Baylor football players.
Briles most recently spent nine months in Florence, Italy, coaching a team that he said was composed of players from age 16 to 43. The team, Guelfi Firenze, advanced to its league championship game, losing to the two-time defending champion Milano Seamen.
The Mount Vernon Tigers begin a football camp Monday, and the first day of University Interscholastic League-sanctioned practices is Aug. 5.
Briles said in a telephone interview Sunday that he was contacted by a former staff member who lives in Mount Vernon and asked if he would be interested in the vacancy created when coach Josh Finney resigned this year to take a job in nearby Winnsboro.
"I said yes," Briles said. "I just want to coach football. That's all I'm concerned with. It's all I've ever done. I just want to coach football. It doesn't matter what level.
"Football is football, and as far as what I want to accomplish, there's really nothing there other than getting back on the field and working with coaches and players."
Briles has not coached in high schools since the 1990s. He led Stephenville to Class 4A state and division titles in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 1999 before working as an assistant at Texas Tech and as head coach at the University of Houston and Baylor.
He was elected in 2008 to the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his success as one of the first Texas high school coaches to win championships consistently by using the same wide-open, passing-oriented offense that he employed at Hamlin, Georgetown and Stephenville and later with the Cougars and Bears.
He reportedly was under consideration for jobs with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League and as Southern Mississippi's offensive coordinator before protests prompted by the controversy surrounding his departure at Baylor scuttled both possibilities.
Mount Vernon school board members, by contrast, approved his hiring unanimously. Jason McCullough, Mount Vernon's superintendent, told ESPN that Briles "expressed remorse over the systemic shortcomings at Baylor, including his program's part in them, and his desire to learn from the mistakes of the past."
In announcing their decision to terminate Briles' contract in 2016, Baylor regents cited an "overall perception that football was above the rules, and that there was no culture of accountability for misconduct."
Briles, however, cited a letter from Christopher Holmes, Baylor's general counsel, obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Holmes wrote that Baylor was "unaware of any situation where (Briles) personally had contact with anyone who directly reported to you being the victim of sexual assault or that you directly discouraged the victim of an alleged sexual assault from reporting to law enforcement or University officials."
ESPN also reported that the university paid Briles $15.1 million to settle his contract, according to federal tax forms filed by the school.
"You can look at the letter from Chris Holmes. It exonerates me from any wrongdoing in any sexual assault case," Briles said. "That's all I need.
"I know me. People know me. That's all I can do. I can't control people's opinions. I've never been in a position that I am going to try to change people's opinions. How you do it is how you live and the type of person that you are, and that is what I believe in and what I always have done. I certainly will stand on that ground."
He added, regarding his critics, "I will just say study the facts. Don't listen to the chatter. Study the facts."
Briles who wrote an autobiography in 2014 titled "Beating Goliath: My Story of Football and Faith," said he has been working for 18 months on a new book that will be published later this year.
"There will be a lot of enlightening things in that," he said. "I wrote every word of it myself. It's a life story, all the way up through June of this year, from day one to now."
Briles said his experience in Italy represented "football in the purest sense, and that is what I loved about it and what rekindled my fire for coaching. I learned how to work more efficiently with limited time as a coach and preparation, and that part of it, I think, is going to really benefit the next job at Mount Vernon."
While he did not discuss specifics about the events surrounding his departure at Baylor, Briles did acknowledge the challenges that coaches face in dealing with students and athletes in areas other than athletics.
"I've always been loyal and always trusted people. I think that is what makes me a good coach and a good leader," he said. "But you have to be a little bit jaded in that area now.
"I've certainly been exposed to some situations that will hopefully help me help others. I can certainly have some insight in helping others make sure that they can take care of any situation that they're involved in in a positive manner."