Art Briles Resigns as Grambling State Offensive Coordinator Four Days After Being Hired
Less than week after Art Briles was hired as the offensive coordinator at Grambling State, the former Baylor head coach has resigned due to the backlash.
Briles confirmed the news shortly after a report broke from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
“Unfortunately, I feel that my continued presence will be a distraction to you and your team, which is the last thing that I want. I have the utmost respect (for) the university, and your players.”
Art Briles
This news also came after Grambling State head coach Hue Jackson defended his decision to bring Briles onto the staff.
Briles was fired as Baylor’s head coach in 2016 amid a sexual assault scandal on his watch. His hiring received widespread criticism, including from legendary former quarterback Doug Williams, who went on to win a Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins after starring at Grambling State.
A 2017 lawsuit alleged that 31 Baylor football players committed 52 rapes over the course of four years. Briles coached the Bears from 2008-15.
An NCAA investigation into the allegations concluded that Baylor “failed to report allegations of and address sexual and interpersonal violence committed on its campus” while concluding that Briles “did not report”… “potential criminal conduct” by one of his players when he learned of it.
“His incurious attitude toward potential criminal conduct by his student-athletes was deeply troubling to the panel,” the report released in August 2021 states.
Despite the investigation’s conclusion, Briles didn’t face major NCAA penalties.
After his firing at Baylor, Briles was away from coaching for a few years before he was hired in the Canadian Football League. Briles also coached in the Italian Football League prior to his most recent high school football stint. Now, Briles will journey back into the ranks of college football for the first time since he left Baylor half a decade ago.
