Back in May, former Baylor head coach Art Briles landed his first coaching job back in the states since being let go as a result of the sexual assault scandal in Waco, when he was approved as the head coach at Mount Vernon HS (TX).
Briles had previously been in the mix for a number of jobs at the FBS level, including the offensive coordinator position at Southern Miss at one point under head coach Jay Hobson, and a very brief stint in Canada as the assistant head coach for offense job with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Before putting a whistle back on in the states, and leading his team to an 8-3 finish and a postseason appearance in year one, Briles took a job in Italy coaching Guelfi Firenze, and returned to his Texas high school roots where he previously spent 16 seasons at the conclusion of the Italian season.
Now, Briles' name is one that is reportedly being considered by decision makers at Lamar (FCS), a program that had been led by Mike Schultz up until an announcement Monday that Schultz would not return to lead the program.
According to the Beaumont Enterprise, Briles' name did float around yesterday's regularly scheduled hour-long meeting of The Cardinal Club - the fundraising group associated with the Lamar athletic department.
Per the article:
“His name did float around at the meeting today,” club president James Patton said of Briles. “It was acknowledged and talked about, but we didn’t specifically dwell on it. He does have a recognizable name that could bring some attention to the university.”
While an official spokesperson declined to comment on it, another member of the club noted that when Briles' name came it, "most people just kind of laughed," thinking that it would be tough to get the resources needed to land someone like Briles.
When athletic director Marco Born was asked what he's looking for in a head coach, he noted Texas ties and someone that is able to win right off the bat during a meeting earlier this week, as well as "someone who knows Texas and knows the high school coaches in the state of Texas and can connect with them.”