Former Baylor University football head coach Art Briles will now be the coach of American football team Guelfi Firenze based in Florence, Italy, beginning in March,…
Former Baylor University football head coach Art Briles will now be the coach of American football team Guelfi Firenze based in Florence, Italy, beginning in March, according to the Star-Telegram.
Two years ago, Briles was fired after Baylor was involved in a rape scandal that resulted in many of the school’s staff being fired. Briles still claims through the Star-Telegram that he does not know the reason he was fired.
“I would have done more if I had known more,” Briles told the Star-Telegram. “When these allegations came out, we found out at the same time you did… I had a meeting with the (Baylor) Board of Regents where I made suggestions that I never had the chance to fulfill; it would have been similar in the NFL that handles the discipline problems that took it out of the football coaches’ hands.”
Briles talked briefly about the situation at Baylor and the ongoing allegations, saying, “I’ve always been about trying to be fair and honest with everyone I came into contact with. The thing that hurts me as much as anything [was] the culture at Baylor at the time.”
“I know they [the victims] didn’t feel comfortable going to report assaults that took place,” he continued. “I don’t think they were represented and taken care of with the level that needed to be handled with. That’s something that through all of this and as time goes will become more clear.”
Briles was hired last year by a Canadian football team but was immediately fired the following day by the same team. The two sides had been having ongoing discussions about the contract, and eventually struck a deal on Thursday. Briles’ contract allows him to go back to America to coach a football team if given the chance.
“I’m a football coach and it’s all I’ve ever done and all I’ve ever really had a passion to do; this gives me a chance to be on the field and between the lines,” Briles said. “Who knows what the future holds? It’s a golden opportunity for me to get on the field and be involved. I’m jacked about it.”
Briles coached at Houston for five years and then moved onto Baylor in 2008. He coached at Baylor for eight years, turning the program around from a 4–8 team his first year, to two conference titles in 2013 and 2014. Briles had a 65-37 coaching record at Baylor and helped turn Baylor into a contender in the Big 12 conference.
