Mount Vernon High School has hired Art Briles as its head football coach, the school announced on Friday.
"We are pleased to welcome Coach Briles back home to Texas," Mount Vernon ISD superintendent Jason McCullough said in a statement. "He brings with him a wealth of not only football experience but also life experience. He is passionate about investing in the lives of young people and helping them to succeed both on the field and in life."
On the field, Briles is clearly overqualified for the job after serving four years as the head coach at Houston and eight at Baylor. He led the Bears to two Big 12 championships and four 10-win seasons. He was fired three years ago this month for his part in a university-wide sexual assault scandal.
He has been out of American football since the firing, taking a job leading the Florence club team Guelfi Fierenze, though he's been close to a return to North American football twice before. Briles was briefly hired as the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats offensive coordinator before that hiring was rescinded just hours later, and this year he interviewed for the Southern Miss offensive coordinator job earlier, causing a public rift between USM head coach Jay Hopson and his school's president. and his son Kendal has been accepted into polite society once more after a brief exile, serving as the offensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic, Houston and now, after being approached for the Texas State head job, as the offensive coordinator Florida State. Longtime Briles offensive line coach Randy Clements is also in Tallahassee as Kendal's offensive line coach.
"I began my coaching career in the Friday night lights of Texas high school football, and I'm looking forward to returning to my roots," Briles said in a statement. "I have learned many lessons during my time as a coach. Some lessons are born out of success and others out of failure. But they all present opportunities to grow, to learn, and to teach, as we strive for excellence both on and off the field."
Briles spent 16 seasons as a head coach at Hamlin, Georgetown and Stephenville high schools in Texas. He's best known for his 12-season run at Stephenville, where, as a pioneer of the spread offense, he led the Yellow Jackets to four state championships.
Mount Vernon is a town of 2,600 residents in northeast Texas, 110 miles northeast of Dallas. The team competes in Class 3A, the state's fourth-largest classification.
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