Sports

Mt. Vernon High School In Texas Hires Former Baylor Football Coach Art Briles

(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Art Briles has a new head coaching job, and it’s far away from the grand stage he once had at Baylor.

According to CBS Sports Friday, Briles was hired by Mt. Vernon (Texas) Independent School to take over the football program. He lost his job with Baylor after the program was engulfed by allegations of sexual misconduct by players.

It was never proven the offensive guru knew anything, and he scored a settlement of more than $15.1 million after being fired. It looked like he was going to go to the CFL a couple years back, but that never materialized. (RELATED: Southern Miss Won’t Hire Art Briles As Offensive Coordinator)

I know opinions are all over the place on Briles, but the fact of the matter is that he was eventually going to get back into coaching.

That’s not to excuse the fact Baylor’s program fell apart under his watch, but it’s important to recognize there wasn’t proven Briles knew of any of the alleged misconduct going on.

The fact Baylor paid him so much money after getting rid of him is a huge signal the school didn’t feel rock solid in their decision to get rid of him.

Mt. Vernon is going to take some serious heat for this decision, and I understand why. Briles left under some bad circumstances and he has plenty of critics out there.

Will he ever coach again in college? I don’t have a clue, but taking a head coaching job in Texas is the first step in that direction. It’ll be interesting to see what he can do with his new program.

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