CFL Team Backtracks on Art Briles Hire After Less Than 12 Hours

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have reversed course on hiring Art Briles.

Former Baylor head coach Art Briles will not be serving as an assistant coach for Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, the team and the league announced Monday night. 

The Ticats announced Monday morning that they had hired Briles as assistant coach for the team’s offense. About 10 hours later, the deal was off. 

“Art Briles will no longer be joining the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a coach,” the team and league said in a joint statement shortly after 9 p.m. “We came to this decision this evening following a lengthy discussion between the league and the Hamilton organization. We wish Mr. Briles all the best in his future endeavours.”

Briles was the Baylor head coach from 2008 to 2015 but was fired in the wake of a sexual assault scandal that rocked the university. In May 2016, an outside investigation concluded that “specific failings within both the football program and athletics department leadership, including a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player, to take action in response to reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, and to take action in response to a report of dating violence.”

Briles sued Baylor but then dropped the lawsuit. 

Briles had recently advised Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, his son, in an unofficial capacity. Lane Kiffinclarified that Briles is not a consultant for the team and has not been in contact with any players.

Briles has also been seen consulting head coaches at several NFL practices with various teams.

The Tiger Cats recently promoted assistant coach June Jones to interim head coach after Kent Austin stepped down an 0–8 start to the season. Jones previously served as the head coach at Hawaii.