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Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby Apologizes for Art Briles' Postgame Presence

The disgraced former Baylor coach is Lebby's father-in-law and was Lebby's guest at Oklahoma's game against SMU on Saturday night.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby Apologizes for Art Briles' Postgame Presence
Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby Apologizes for Art Briles' Postgame Presence /
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NORMAN — Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby apologized Monday for bringing Art Briles — his father-in-law and the central figure in the Baylor sexual assault scandal — and said it won’t happen again.

“His presence on the field after the game the other night is something that created a distraction, and I do apologize for that,” Lebby said. “That was not the intent at all. Intent was just to celebrate with my family.

“Do want to correct some reports that claimed he had a sideline pass. There was not a sideline pass given out. He was actually on the field only when other families were down there and were present.”

Lebby read a prepared statement and declined to answer any questions about the incident during his weekly news conference. Instead, he answered questions about the SMU game and this week’s game at Tulsa.

Lebby said athletic director Joe Castiglione and head coach Brent Venables “both have addressed concerns with me, have talked to me about it, and again, can make sure that everybody understands that this is something that will not come up again."

Lebby, 39, came to Oklahoma as a 4-star offensive line prospect from Andrews, TX, but never played for the Sooners as he suffered a debilitating back injury.

Instead, he immediately turned to coaching, joining Bob Stoops’ staff as a student assistant and then joining the high school ranks in Texas in 2007.

In 2008 he joined Briles’ staff at Baylor in 2008, when he took over an offensive quality control role for three years. He coached Baylor running backs from 2012-14, was elevated to run game coordinator in 2015-16.

In 2017, after Baylor purged the last of Briles’ coaching staff, Lebby resurfaced as offensive coordinator at Southeastern University in Florida, then joined Josh Heupel’s UCF staff as quarterback coach in 2018 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019.

Lebby coached at Ole Miss as Lane Kiffin’s offensive coordinator in 2020-21 before returning to his alma mater in 2022 under Venables.

In his final years in Waco, Lebby was named by a former female Baylor student, Dolores Lozano, who claimed she reported to Lebby allegations of assault by Bears running back Devin Chafin. Chafin disputed the allegations and was later dismissed from the team.

Following Lebby and Venables’ postgame press conference Saturday night after taking down SMU 28-11, Castiglione was asked to comment following a social media firestorm.

“I was just as disappointed as many of our fans when I learned of the postgame situation tonight,” Castiglione said. “It shouldn’t have happened and it was my expectation it never would, based on boundaries we previously set. I’ve addressed it with the appropriate staff.”

After Castiglione’s admonishment — issued in a statement after 11 p.m. Saturday night — Lebby changed his Instagram profile (and added a post) showing himself and his children posing with Briles before the game.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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