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One big school that could potentially hire Art Briles next season
Last week Art Briles sat down for his first extensive TV interview since he was fired in the wake of the sexual assault scandal that also prompted the ousters of Baylor's president and AD. Briles' much-publicized interview with ESPN has triggered the discussion of whether the former Baylor coach will get hired to run another major college football program -- and when.
Speculation within the college football community is all over the place quite frankly. Briles' on-field credentials are unquestioned. He turned Houston into a formidable program and then turned a lowly Bears squad into a powerhouse. The 60-year-old won 50 games in his last five seasons at what had been a Big 12 doormat. But it's the off-field issues that are much tougher to gauge.
As we've discussed quite a bit over the past several months, those things are significant. A school doesn't just fire the winningest coach in school history, the one they just built a fancy new stadium for without any real reason -- especially when the the billionaire that stadium is named for is still close to the embattled coach.
One source told me over the weekend that he thinks Briles will have some FBS options this winter but wasn't sold that any Power 5 programs would go all in for the coach. It's going to take a very strong president and AD to hire Briles given the circumstances of his exit from Baylor. The source added that a lot of schools probably would be more open to Briles a year from now when there's less concern about more troubling allegations surfacing connected to his Baylor regime.
One potential scenario to keep an eye on is at Briles' old program -- Houston.
If -- and this is a big if -- Tom Herman were to be lured away from UH for someplace else, what would the Cougars do next? I know there'd be some support for each of Herman's coordinators, Major Applewhite and Todd Orlando, but I've also heard that UH brass might be reluctant to promote from within because the man Herman replaced, Tony Levine, had been elevated from Kevin Sumlin's staff.
I know some Cougar fans are still ticked about Briles leaving for Baylor -- and bringing UH commit Robert Griffin III with him. I also know Briles still has support with one of the biggest Houston boosters.
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