Art Briles is back in college football. No, not at the Power Four level. Not even FBS. He’s the new head coach at Eastern New Mexico. Yeah, that Eastern New Mexico.
This is the first college head coaching job Briles has landed since he was ousted at Baylor back in 2016 following one of the biggest scandals college football has ever seen. He’s popped up here and there since then, tried to coach in Canada, was briefly on the field at Mount Vernon High School in Texas, and had a quick cameo with Grambling State that got shut down almost as fast as it started.
But now he’s officially back, running a college program.
Eastern New Mexico isn’t exactly a name that gets thrown around during ESPN panels, but for Briles, this is about as soft a landing spot as he could hope for. It’s a Division II program that’s not used to much attention, and now they’ve got one of the most polarizing coaches in the country wearing their headset. That’s a real shift in identity for a place that usually doesn’t make headlines.
The hire is already drawing the kind of reaction you’d expect. Some people are asking why this guy keeps getting chances. Others are pointing to his resume with Big 12 titles, Heisman winners, and some of the most electric offenses the sport has ever seen. But make no mistake, nobody’s neutral on Art Briles.
What Briles does from here will be under a microscope. Every press conference, every sideline moment, every loss or win, it’s all going to be dissected. There’s no way around it. This is the story now.
Briles wanted back in. He got his shot. It just so happened to come from a school most fans had probably never heard of before today.
Here’s the thing, though, Division II or not, Art Briles is coaching college football again.
