Former Baylor HC Art Briles Named Offensive Coordinator at Grambling State

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Former Baylor coach Art Briles will be the next offensive coordinator at Grambling State, a school spokesperson confirmed to Chris Vannini of The Athletic. 

It will be Briles’ first job in collegiate athletics since he was fired by Baylor in 2016 after an independent investigation found he failed to report accusations of sexual violence and intimate partner violence by football players. Investigators from the Pepper Hamilton law firm said there was a “fundamental failure” by the university in its handling of the allegations.

In August 2021, the NCAA announced light penalties for recruiting violations but said it “could not conclude that Baylor violated NCAA rules when it failed to report allegations of and address sexual and interpersonal violence committed on its campus.”

Briles’ attorney, Scott Tompsett, said in a statement at the time the NCAA’s decision “completely exonerated” the coach and “clears the way” for him to return to the sidelines.

It still came after the school “admitted to moral and ethical failings” with its handling of cases during the NCAA investigation. 

Since ending his tenure at Baylor, Briles spent two years as a head coach at Mount Vernon High School in Texas before stepping down in December 2020.

The 66-year-old was a candidate to become an offensive coordinator at Southern Miss in 2019 and had the backing of head coach Jay Hopson, but school officials took him out of the running. In 2017, Briles was briefly hired by the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats until widespread backlash led to the team reversing its decision.

Briles will now join the staff at Grambling State, a team that finished 4-7 in 2021, including a 3-5 record in the SWAC. Former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson was hired as head coach in December.