Like a Phoenix rising out of the ashes....................

[Carnac]

So does former Baylor head coach ART BRILES, as he starts over as the new head coach of the Mount Vernon High School football program in Mount Vernon Texas.

How a small Texas town has reacted to the hiring of Art Briles.

MOUNT VERNON, Texas -- The parking lot of the Dairy Bar on Highway 37 was filled with three-quarter-ton pickups. Inside, at the "Table of Knowledge" -- so indicated by the sign hanging from the ceiling -- several men in blue jeans and work shirts, a few in cowboy hats, ate lunch and discussed the business of the day. Interrupted by a reporter, they didn't have any problem offering up opinions about their town becoming national news for who it hired to lead the Mount Vernon High School football team.

First of all, they don't know the new coach from Adam. Might not recognize him if he walked in right now with his ball cap on. But they know everybody deserves a second chance. Says so in the Bible. And none of them want to be involved in any story. Don't want their names in there.

The sentiment was the same up and down Highway 37 and off Main Street downtown, at the Dairy Queen or the Brookshire's grocery store. Residents said they were worried about their own jobs or feeding their cattle. But overall, they thought it was fine if that coach wanted to come to this little town and start over. They're not even sure how it happened, just that this was a decision made by their elected officials.

That coach, of course, is Art Briles, who was fired in 2016 after an investigation into sexual violence at Baylor University. The investigation was sparked by the August 2015 conviction of football player Sam Ukwuachu for sexually assaulting a female Baylor soccer player. Law firm Pepper Hamilton found at least 17 women who reported being sexually assaulted by 19 football players amid wider findings of failings at Baylor. The fallout led to a series of Title IX lawsuits and the eventual resignation of Baylor president Ken Starr and athletic director Ian McCaw.

Coach Art Briles Mount Vernon Tigers Are Picked 3rd In Their Football District

[the rest of the story]

I posted this for information only as a news item. This post contains no personal comments or endorsements.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Guy is disgusting and doesn't deserve a second chance. I'd rather UConn go 1-11 every year than hire someone of his ilk.

 

[Marty Jackson]

UConn could use a Norman Dale type story. Maybe not Briles,
Someone cheap, someone with a chip on their shoulder, but with name cache that would draw recruits. And they have to have 5-6 friends that are in same position to join as coaches on the cheap.

Has to be someone that fits that profile.

 

[formerlurker]

I'd rather drop Football before letting Art Briles lead the program and represent UConn in any capacity.

 

[Skiblets]

I will get lambasted by the PC crowd but would disagree that he doesn't deserve a second chance. The facts are that nobody ever accused of a sexual assault played in a game for Briles. When accusations were made, he benched kids. Did he recruit questionable kids? Yes but who doesn't. Was there a pervasive problem there? Yes as well. But Baylor has a deeper institutional problem..wild wild west style. Remember one hoops player killed another. He couldn't be blamed for the culture of the entire AD. My last point. Baylor ended up paying him $15M I believe for wrongful termination. My point is he certainly could have done better but is not the evil person the media and others make him out to be because it fits a nice narrative. Take your shots but I do believe he deserves a second chance...maybe I'm getting soft in my old age

 

[Buffett10]

I would 100% take Briles right now. He would get us easily to 9 wins.

 

[LIUCHusky]

I would 100% take Briles right now. He would get us easily to 9 wins.

I think Randy is 2-0 against him.

 

[Scrutineer]

I think Randy is 2-0 against him.

Sure, but he would go 9-2 in the other games.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I will get lambasted by the PC crowd but would disagree that he doesn't deserve a second chance. The facts are that nobody ever accused of a sexual assault played in a game for Briles. When accusations were made, he benched kids. Did he recruit questionable kids? Yes but who doesn't. Was there a pervasive problem there? Yes as well. But Baylor has a deeper institutional problem..wild wild west style. Remember one hoops player killed another. He couldn't be blamed for the culture of the entire AD. My last point. Baylor ended up paying him $15M I believe for wrongful termination. My point is he certainly could have done better but is not the evil person the media and others make him out to be because it fits a nice narrative. Take your shots but I do believe he deserves a second chance...maybe I'm getting soft in my old age

PC crowd? The guy enabled sexual predators to commit crimes under his watch.

Try and act like a major FBS coach doesn't know what's going on with his players on campus.

 

[TRest]

Guy is disgusting and doesn't deserve a second chance. I'd rather UConn go 1-11 every year than hire someone of his ilk.

good news!

 

[ConnHuskBask]

good news!

Lol, well played.

 

[formerlurker]

I will get lambasted by the PC crowd but would disagree that he doesn't deserve a second chance. The facts are that nobody ever accused of a sexual assault played in a game for Briles. When accusations were made, he benched kids. Did he recruit questionable kids? Yes but who doesn't. Was there a pervasive problem there? Yes as well. But Baylor has a deeper institutional problem..wild wild west style. Remember one hoops player killed another. He couldn't be blamed for the culture of the entire AD. My last point. Baylor ended up paying him $15M I believe for wrongful termination. My point is he certainly could have done better but is not the evil person the media and others make him out to be because it fits a nice narrative. Take your shots but I do believe he deserves a second chance...maybe I'm getting soft in my old age

My bad, he's a good dude.

Damning texts between ex-Baylor coach Briles, other officials revealed in new court records

Not looking for a battle, Skibs. I'm the complete opposite and am several years into the "get off my lawn" stage of life and it depresses me! That being said, I'm pretty sure 24yo me would think Art Briles is a slug too.

 

[UCSouth]

PC crowd? The guy enabled sexual predators to commit crimes under his watch.

Try and act like a major FBS coach doesn't know what's going on with his players on campus.

And you know this...how? Did you play for Baylor during this period of time, were you in the Court Room during the proceedings? Oh wait, you saw it on the internet or read about it on a message board. OMG, it has to be the absolute truth.

 

[UConnNick]

I will get lambasted by the PC crowd but would disagree that he doesn't deserve a second chance. The facts are that nobody ever accused of a sexual assault played in a game for Briles. When accusations were made, he benched kids. Did he recruit questionable kids? Yes but who doesn't. Was there a pervasive problem there? Yes as well. But Baylor has a deeper institutional problem..wild wild west style. Remember one hoops player killed another. He couldn't be blamed for the culture of the entire AD. My last point. Baylor ended up paying him $15M I believe for wrongful termination. My point is he certainly could have done better but is not the evil person the media and others make him out to be because it fits a nice narrative. Take your shots but I do believe he deserves a second chance...maybe I'm getting soft in my old age

I'm biased because I know Art Briles personally. I covered all of his Houston teams. Art is one of the kindest, most soft spoken coaches in the entire college coaching fraternity, in any sport, and I've covered a lot of college sporting events nationwide.

He was willing to go on answering questions from the media even after the live PC was over. He would literally stay until the last reporter's question was answered, no matter how long it took...20 min., 40 min. whatever. His humble demeanor and candor were very refreshing and unlike many other coaches. I used to stay til the end of his "unofficial" PC because he had interesting things to say about the games.

Art's parents both died in a car wreck when he was still a teenager. He never showed any signs of bitterness regarding what had to be a gut wrenching and life changing experience. It was impossible not to have admiration for a man that suffered through that tragedy and rose above it to enjoy a successful career.

Even with all that, I think the way Art left UH was deplorable. Cougar fans lambasted him for it. He played Baylor and Houston off against each other. UH kept matching or exceeding Baylor's offers while Briles would tell his team he was not leaving. Finally Baylor hit a number that Houston couldn't match or exceed, so Briles went to Baylor, taking his No. 1 recruit Robert Griffin III with him.

I don't mind when coaches negotiate for as much money as they can get. They've got families to take care of just like the rest of us, but I think it's wrong to tell your team you're not leaving, and then pack up the Mayflower moving van and leave. Tell them you don't know what you're going to do, but don't lie to them.

What Briles did at Baylor was reprehensible, but it seems he was surrounded by a culture which promoted denial to maintain the image of the school. I think his actions may very well have been motivated by his own desire for self preservation. What he did was wrong and nothing excuses it, but he is generally speaking a very caring person. Maybe he thought not going along would jeopardize his job, IDK. He could have quit as a matter of principle but he didn't.

Due to his behavior toward his team during the Houston-Baylor contract, and his shockingly dismissive attitude toward the transgressions his players committed at Baylor, I'm the last person who would think he deserves a second chance, but I do.

Let's not forget our own Suzy Herbst got in a lot of hot water for a similar lack of empathy concerning a rape victim at UConn. She tried to cover up a complaint regarding a rape victim by claiming it didn't happen on campus. It was the same motivation as what went on in Waco. She didn't want UConn's image tarnished by a rape case. She later had to apologize and the school got sued. The victim won the case and received monetary damages in an amount I believe was in the mid six figures.

The point is it happens at a lot of schools trying to protect their image, and we have been just as guilty as others.

Art Briles is a flawed man who's made many mistakes, but deep down he really can be a caring, compassionate human being. He's not the three headed monster many have tried to portray him as, and he's very far from a Rick Pitino. Even though I've got plenty of reasons to kick the guy to the curb, I know he's a man of faith who has learned valuable lessons from his misdeeds, and will likely try to move forward without putting his own self interest ahead of moral and ethical values.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

And you know this...how? Did you play for Baylor during this period of time, were you in the Court Room during the proceedings? Oh wait, you saw it on the internet or read about it on a message board. OMG, it has to be the absolute truth.

Bet you think Joe Pa did nothing wrong too.

 

[noeynox]

I'm biased because I know Art Briles personally. I covered all of his Houston teams. Art is one of the kindest, most soft spoken coaches in the entire college coaching fraternity, in any sport, and I've covered a lot of college sporting events nationwide.

He was willing to go on answering questions from the media even after the live PC was over. He would literally stay until the last reporter's question was answered, no matter how long it took...20 min., 40 min. whatever. His humble demeanor and candor were very refreshing and unlike many other coaches. I used to stay til the end of his "unofficial" PC because he had interesting things to say about the games.

Art's parents both died in a car wreck when he was still a teenager. He never showed any signs of bitterness regarding what had to be a gut wrenching and life changing experience. It was impossible not to have admiration for a man that suffered through that tragedy and rose above it to enjoy a successful career.

Even with all that, I think the way Art left UH was deplorable. Cougar fans lambasted him for it. He played Baylor and Houston off against each other. UH kept matching or exceeding Baylor's offers while Briles would tell his team he was not leaving. Finally Baylor hit a number that Houston couldn't match or exceed, so Briles went to Baylor, taking his No. 1 recruit Robert Griffin III with him.

I don't mind when coaches negotiate for as much money as they can get. They've got families to take care of just like the rest of us, but I think it's wrong to tell your team you're not leaving, and then pack up the Mayflower moving van and leave. Tell them you don't know what you're going to do, but don't lie to them.

What Briles did at Baylor was reprehensible, but it seems he was surrounded by a culture which promoted denial to maintain the image of the school. I think his actions may very well have been motivated by his own desire for self preservation. What he did was wrong and nothing excuses it, but he is generally speaking a very caring person. Maybe he thought not going along would jeopardize his job, IDK. He could have quit as a matter of principle but he didn't.

Due to his behavior toward his team during the Houston-Baylor contract, and his shockingly dismissive attitude toward the transgressions his players committed at Baylor, I'm the last person who would think he deserves a second chance, but I do.

Let's not forget our own Suzy Herbst got in a lot of hot water for a similar lack of empathy concerning a rape victim at UConn. She tried to cover up a complaint regarding a rape victim by claiming it didn't happen on campus. It was the same motivation as what went on in Waco. She didn't want UConn's image tarnished by a rape case. She later had to apologize and the school got sued. The victim won the case and received monetary damages in an amount I believe was in the mid six figures.

The point is it happens at a lot of schools trying to protect their image, and we have been just as guilty as others.

Art Briles is a flawed man who's made many mistakes, but deep down he really can be a caring, compassionate human being. He's not the three headed monster many have tried to portray him as, and he's very far from a Rick Pitino. Even though I've got plenty of reasons to kick the guy to the curb, I know he's a man of faith who has learned valuable lessons from his misdeeds, and will likely try to move forward without putting his own self interest ahead of moral and ethical values.

I don't know all the facts, but young women were being raped, and he was very dismissive. Tough to reconcile that with "he's a man of faifth". I'm not against him getting a second shot but geez.

 

[JMick]

I will get lambasted by the PC crowd but would disagree that he doesn't deserve a second chance. The facts are that nobody ever accused of a sexual assault played in a game for Briles. When accusations were made, he benched kids. Did he recruit questionable kids? Yes but who doesn't. Was there a pervasive problem there? Yes as well. But Baylor has a deeper institutional problem..wild wild west style. Remember one hoops player killed another. He couldn't be blamed for the culture of the entire AD. My last point. Baylor ended up paying him $15M I believe for wrongful termination. My point is he certainly could have done better but is not the evil person the media and others make him out to be because it fits a nice narrative. Take your shots but I do believe he deserves a second chance...maybe I'm getting soft in my old age

Lol PC crowd? How about "decent, respectable human being" crowd. . Briles enabled sexual predators

 

[superjohn]

I'm biased because I know Art Briles personally. I covered all of his Houston teams. Art is one of the kindest, most soft spoken coaches in the entire college coaching fraternity, in any sport, and I've covered a lot of college sporting events nationwide.

He was willing to go on answering questions from the media even after the live PC was over. He would literally stay until the last reporter's question was answered, no matter how long it took...20 min., 40 min. whatever. His humble demeanor and candor were very refreshing and unlike many other coaches. I used to stay til the end of his "unofficial" PC because he had interesting things to say about the games.

Art's parents both died in a car wreck when he was still a teenager. He never showed any signs of bitterness regarding what had to be a gut wrenching and life changing experience. It was impossible not to have admiration for a man that suffered through that tragedy and rose above it to enjoy a successful career.

Even with all that, I think the way Art left UH was deplorable. Cougar fans lambasted him for it. He played Baylor and Houston off against each other. UH kept matching or exceeding Baylor's offers while Briles would tell his team he was not leaving. Finally Baylor hit a number that Houston couldn't match or exceed, so Briles went to Baylor, taking his No. 1 recruit Robert Griffin III with him.

I don't mind when coaches negotiate for as much money as they can get. They've got families to take care of just like the rest of us, but I think it's wrong to tell your team you're not leaving, and then pack up the Mayflower moving van and leave. Tell them you don't know what you're going to do, but don't lie to them.

What Briles did at Baylor was reprehensible, but it seems he was surrounded by a culture which promoted denial to maintain the image of the school. I think his actions may very well have been motivated by his own desire for self preservation. What he did was wrong and nothing excuses it, but he is generally speaking a very caring person. Maybe he thought not going along would jeopardize his job, IDK. He could have quit as a matter of principle but he didn't.

Due to his behavior toward his team during the Houston-Baylor contract, and his shockingly dismissive attitude toward the transgressions his players committed at Baylor, I'm the last person who would think he deserves a second chance, but I do.

Let's not forget our own Suzy Herbst got in a lot of hot water for a similar lack of empathy concerning a rape victim at UConn. She tried to cover up a complaint regarding a rape victim by claiming it didn't happen on campus. It was the same motivation as what went on in Waco. She didn't want UConn's image tarnished by a rape case. She later had to apologize and the school got sued. The victim won the case and received monetary damages in an amount I believe was in the mid six figures.

The point is it happens at a lot of schools trying to protect their image, and we have been just as guilty as others.

Art Briles is a flawed man who's made many mistakes, but deep down he really can be a caring, compassionate human being. He's not the three headed monster many have tried to portray him as, and he's very far from a Rick Pitino. Even though I've got plenty of reasons to kick the guy to the curb, I know he's a man of faith who has learned valuable lessons from his misdeeds, and will likely try to move forward without putting his own self interest ahead of moral and ethical values.

The way Briles left UH was certainly no more deplorable than the way Randy left UConn.

 

[superjohn]

Lol PC crowd? How about "decent, respectable human being" crowd. . Briles enabled sexual predators

So has our entire justice system and the people who lead our country, not only enabled it they also partook in it.

Briles is pretty low down the totem pole when it comes to disgusting behavior all around us. Also, for the people so up in arms about deplorable behavior, maybe pick something else to watch other than football.

 

[noeynox]

Just saw this...speaking of Briles/Baylor scandal.

Former Baylor player's sex assault conviction overturned

A Texas appeals court for a second time has overturned the sexual assault conviction of a former Baylor football player whose case ignited a scandal that rocked the nation's largest Baptist school.

apnews.com

 

[Buffett10]

The girls that went to the coaches are dumb. If you’re going to report a rape go to the police not a football coach or staffer

 

[JMick]

The girls that went to the coaches are dumb. If you’re going to report a rape go to the police not a football coach or staffer

Yeah that's real easy to say when it doesn't happen to you. People react differently to trauma. And religious institutions and areas don't believe women anyway

 

[temery]

This thread will soon be closed if the obsession with rape doesn't end.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

So has our entire justice system and the people who lead our country, not only enabled it they also partook in it.

Briles is pretty low down the totem pole when it comes to disgusting behavior all around us. Also, for the people so up in arms about deplorable behavior, maybe pick something else to watch other than football.

That's laughable. If UConn wanted to hire Petrino or Petino (not now of course with Hurley), I wouldn't care. I have no disillusions with what goes on in football, but there are some lines you can't cross, mainly assault or murder.

Art Briles is a flawed man who's made many mistakes, but deep down he really can be a caring, compassionate human being.

It's not who you are "deep down" that counts. It's what your actions are. I hate that expression, yeah he's a total scumbag, but deep down, a real sweetheart.

 

[UConnNick]

That's laughable. If UConn wanted to hire Petrino or Petino (not now of course with Hurley), I wouldn't care. I have no disillusions with what goes on in football, but there are some lines you can't cross, mainly assault or murder.



It's not who you are "deep down" that counts. It's what your actions are. I hate that expression, yeah he's a total scumbag, but deep down, a real sweetheart.

I indicated he can be, not that he always is.