Matt Murschel: Heat is on for 7 college football coaches.
BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic assistant coaches Kendal Briles and Chris Kiffin both said they were not concerned about their pasts at previous schools affecting their jobs at FAU.
Briles, the Owls’ offensive coordinator, came to FAU after nine years as an assistant at Baylor, the school embroiled in a sexual-assault scandal. Kiffin, FAU’s defensive coordinator, spent the last six years at Ole Miss and is accused of four NCAA violations.
“No, sir,” Briles said when asked if he was concerned.
“I’m not one bit concerned about that,” said Kiffin, whose brother, Lane Kiffin, is FAU’s head coach.
Sunday was the first time Briles and Chris Kiffin spoke to the media since FAU hired them. It was the only time they are scheduled to speak this season.
Briles was not originally implicated in the Baylor scandal that cost his father, Art, his head coaching job. But he was named in a January lawsuit that claimed he tried to lure recruits to Baylor by saying white women loved football players.
“Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at Baylor and they love football players,” the lawsuit alleged Briles saying to a Dallas area recruit.
The lawsuit was filed under the pseudonym Elizabeth Doe that claimed 52 rapes by 31 different Baylor football players from 2011 to 2014.
It also claimed the Baylor coaching staff created a “show ’em a good time” philosophy in recruiting. The suit said Baylor took recruits to strip clubs, made girls in Baylor’s hostess program available for sex, and allowed drugs and alcohol.
A 13-page report by the law firm Pepper Hamilton did not name Briles or any other assistant coaches but said the staff “took improper steps in response to disclosures of sexual assault or dating violence.” It also said the in-house discipline conflicted with student conduct and criminal processes.
“Football coaches and staff had inappropriate involvement in disciplinary and criminal matters or engaged in improper conduct that reinforced an overall perception that football was above the rules, and that there was no culture of accountability for misconduct,” the report said.
Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Baylor had to release more documents related to Pepper Hamilton’s investigation.
Briles said creating a culture of accountability and responsibility at FAU starts at the top of the administration.
“That starts with [athletic director] Pat Chun, [president] John Kelly, Lane Kiffin and then us, as coaches,” Briles said. “You have to act that way to preach that way. For us, as coaches, in our daily lives, it’s just being a great example to all these players.”
Kelly said in March that FAU found “nothing concerning” about Briles’ history at Baylor before the school hired him.
Briles has defended his father in the past, writing “CAB” on his hands and sending a tweet that defended his father’s actions. On Sunday, Briles said he talks to his father daily, sometimes sending football tapes to him for advice. Briles said his father had not been on campus at FAU.
“He’s definitely involved, and we talk daily,” Briles said.