Report: Grambling State Targeting Former Baylor Coach Art Briles for Offensive Coordinator Role

Briles was fired by Baylor in 2016 after an investigation found "a pattern of sexual violence" within the program.

Grambling State is reportedly targeting disgraced former Baylor coach Art Briles as the program‘s next offensive coordinator, according to Zach Barnett of FootballScoop. 

The school has yet to make a final announcement, but a decision could come as early as this week, per the report. The job would mark Briles‘s first at the college level since he was ousted from Baylor in 2016 in the wake of a sexual assault scandal that rocked the Big 12 football program.

Despite the report that Grambling is zeroing in on the former Bears coach, a school spokesperson told SI‘s Richard Johnson that the program has no statement on the matter at this time. The spokesperson explained that Grambling football coach Hue Jackson is “continuing to assemble his staff and right now there are no hires to announce.” 

Responding to @FootballScoop's report that Hue Jackson is "targeting" Art Briles as his OC, a Grambling spokesperson said:

"we do not have any statement" ... "He is continuing to assemble his staff and right now there are no hires to announce"

— Richard🇬🇾Johnson (@RJ_cfb) February 14, 2022

Briles was fired by Baylor in April 2016 after the Pepper Hamilton report found a “fundamental failure by Baylor to implement Title IX.” The investigation found that Briles and his staff either ignored or covered up reports of sexual assault perpetrated by Bears players between ’11 and ’14, along with several other disturbing recruiting practices.

“In certain instances, including reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, athletics and football personnel affirmatively chose not to report sexual violence and dating violence to an appropriate administrator outside of athletics,” the university‘s report said at the time.

Briles has bounced around the world of football since he was dismissed from Baylor. He was briefly hired as the offensive coordinator of the Canadian Football League‘s Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2019 before the organization backtracked on the decision, calling it a “major blunder.” He then spent part of that same year coaching in Italy for the Estra Guelfi Firenze American Football team.

Most recently, the 66-year-old Briles spent two seasons as the head coach at Mount Vernon (Texas) High School. He resigned from his post following the 2020 season. 

Grambling State hired Jackson, a two-time NFL coach, in December 2021 after posting a 4–7 record last season.