The Art Briles File
Holy Crap!!! I'm trying to find ANY little bit of dirt on this guy to convince me why he shouldn't be the next coach at UH. Anything ... a parking ticket even. Right now, I'd have to say I'm putting him ahead of everyone else on my list. He's definitely worthy of "buy season tickets because of" status.
A few links & comments via some posters on coogFans:
First up is this old article about his tenure in Stephenville. You've got to like the idea that he went in with the specific mission of wanting to turn around a program, even at the cost of his paycheck. Bottom line is that he accomplished everything at the high school level that UH is looking for at the collegiate level. I hope if there's only one news clipping Dave Maggard reads, its this one.
Here's another one that covers him leaving Stephenvill for Tech. Being a former president of the Texas High School Coaches Association has to also go a long ways for being able to recruit within the state.
One poster on CoogFans is pointing out that there are a few recruits that Briles could bring to UH ... possibly. A bluechip DL and a QB, both from Stephenville. Either or both would be a nice steal to help get the new coach going early.
Reading through the posts on the Tech boards, and basically everything else, indicates this is a nobrainer. Granted, sports reporting is often a place for puff peices, but even against that comparison, this guy could probably run over a small child and still have an article in the Stephenville paper about what a great man he is.
The type of success he had in Stephenville indicates he knows how to work the food chain. Getting Jr High coaches to work with and develop kids to help out in a program that set the record for High School offense in a season isn't easy. Put a guy like that in a HS football haven like Houston, let him connect with the coaches in town, and I've got to think he could make the turnaround we need.
Comments
Great info on the new coach. Based on what he did at Stephenville and Tech, he's definitely the best pick.
But I do have one question: What happened to him after he finished playing football at UH in '77? Why did he go on to graduate from Tech instead of UH with his BA? If you can find an answer to that one, you're a real Coog/wizard!
Posted by: Mike | December 5, 2002 10:59 PM
I wish I could credit my own genius, but I discovered it via trolling the CoogFans message board. As posted on the most recent post, his parents died in a car wreck on the way to the 1977 Cotton Bowl. Also seems to be reports that he blew out a knee, so I'm not sure about the timeline. He either went back home in West Texas after the Cotton Bowl, or after blowing out a knee sometime after that. He also seems to have had a large family and there appears to be some reports that he wanted to be near home to take on some responsibility after his parents passed away.
Posted by: Greg | December 6, 2002 04:59 AM
I have had personel business with this man (Art Briles). He is a cheater and a lier. He is a loser no matter how many games he wins.
Posted by: Ali | August 19, 2003 12:32 AM