Art Briles is officially back coaching football, though not in America.
Briles has been hired by an Italian team known as Guelfi Firenze, the team announced Thursday. The team is based in Florence, Italy, and its name roughly translates to Florence Knights or Florence Crusaders.
Briles was fired by Baylor in May of 2016 and has not coached since. This move will be his first coaching job since that firing. He was briefly hired as the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats' offensive coordinator last August, but the hiring was canceled by the CFL hours after it was announced.
Briles told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram his discussions with the Italian team did not delve deep into his tumultuous Baylor exit.
The team's season does not begin until March of 2019 and Briles will not head to Italy until October, though his contract allows him to back out at anytime should an American team hire him.
"I’m a football coach and it’s all I’ve ever done and all I’ve ever really had a passion to do; this gives me a chance to be on the field and between the lines,” Briles told the paper. “(This is) a situation where I can build a team over there and it’s inspiring to me. ... It’s a situation where I can stay active this fall as a coach and as a person be involved in the game. Who knows what the future holds? It’s a golden opportunity for me to get on the field and be involved. I’m jacked about it.”
Briles was paid $18 million to leave Baylor, according to IRS records. He also received a letter from Baylor chief counsel Christopher Holmes exonerating his culpability in the school's rape scandal.
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