Briles out on ‘very sad day’ at Baylor

RALPH D. RUSSO

A brash Texan with a bold approach, Art Briles made Baylor football relevant after years of wallowing in the basement of the Big 12 Conference.

The Bears became one college football’s cool teams under Briles, winning league titles and earning lofty rankings with one of the most exciting and prolific offenses in the history of the sport. The new, $250 million stadium on the banks of the Brazos River doesn’t have Briles’ name on it but there is no one more responsible for its existence. That era is over now in Waco, Texas. Everything Briles accomplished has been tarnished and it would be surprising if he ever becomes the head coach of a big-time program again.

Briles is on his way out at Baylor after the school released details Thursday of a sweeping investigation into allegations that the football program and other school leaders failed to take action after complaints of sexual assault and violence by players.

Baylor regents said the 60-year-old Briles had been suspended “with the intent to terminate according to contractual procedures” — an extraordinary and rare decision in a sport where coaches often survive scandals. Briles has eight years left on a 10-year contract that runs through 2023 and paid him $4 million per year.

The Bears went 65-37 in eight seasons under Briles and won two Big 12 titles. In Waco and among Baylor fans, Briles was revered like Bear Bryant was at Alabama and Bo Schembechler was at Michigan. He was a savior.

Baylor booster Mike Holman, 61, said he is very disappointed in Briles but added that the regents made the right choice.

“Very sad day and a very sad situation,” Holman said.

As a coach, Briles made a name for himself by pushing limits and conventions on the field. He climbed the ranks as a high school coach in Texas and became known for innovative spread offenses that played fast and aggressive. After winning state championships at Stephenville High School he got a shot as an assistant at Texas Tech and after just three years he was named the head coach at Houston. He took over in Waco in 2008 and has been the face of Baylor football ever since — never shy about sticking up for the Bears.

When Baylor was left out of that first playoff, passed over for Ohio State and forced to share a conference title with a TCU team it had beaten, Briles lobbied loudly for his program in that deep Texas drawl. He went after Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby for the conference’s lack of a tiebreaker and called out the selection committee, suggesting there weren’t enough folks from Texas on it.

But the program had become insulated to a