Briles aiming to change Baylor reality
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Art Briles has the sunny disposition befitting a man selling faith, hope and adventure.
“If I walked through the room and 11 other head coaches from the Big 12 walked through the room, there probably wouldn’t be a whole lot of people pointing at me saying, ‘There goes Baylor football,’” the Bears’ new coach said Wednesday.
No. What they’d likely be saying is, “There goes a guy who’ll be looking for a job again in the not-too-distant future.”
Briles understands.
Heck, even his oldest daughter, 28-year-old Jancy, recommended he not leave the comfortable situation he had at the University of Houston for Baylor’s doormat program.
One that proved impossible for the previous four head coaches to turn into a winner.
Consider that in the first 12 years of the Big 12, Baylor has finished last in the South Division 11 times. In eight of those years, the Bears had the worst overall record.
“She was just saying ‘Why would you do that, Daddy?’ And I said, ‘Why not?’” Briles said. “There’s something we’ve all got that’s called instinct, and that’s what I rely on a lot.”
It’s served him well.
As a Texas high school coach, Briles switched from a two-back, split-veer offense to a shotgun formation because he’d decided it would take more versatility to win a state championship.
He took that approach to Stephenville High — a school that had never made the playoffs — and won four titles in 12 years.
After spending three seasons as Texas Tech’s running backs coach, Briles got the Houston job and guided the Cougars to a bowl game in his first season. That came just two years after they’d gone 0-11.
In five years under Briles, Houston made four bowl trips and won its first outright conference championship in 26 seasons.
Meanwhile, Baylor, one year after going 3-5 in the Big 12 (its best-ever mark in the league), went 0-8 in 2007, and the decision was made to part ways with Guy Morriss.
Briles wound up accepting the offer to replace Morriss because of what he heard from athletic director Ian McCaw.
“I liked the fact that these people are hungry,” he said. “I’m not going to a place where people are sitting back and yawning. I like people that are leaning forward wanting to do things.”
While Briles anticipates a long road to respectability, the Bears do return nine offensive starters from a unit that averaged 351.2 yards a game (best at Baylor in 12 years).
But he also knows that last year’s squad never finished within 20 points of a Big 12 opponent.
And so he sells faith, hope and adventure, fully aware that has to turn into reality at some stage.
“What we’ve got to do is notch a couple of victories that make people look at the paper at say, ‘That happened?’ We’ve got to do something that’s unexpected,” Briles said. “Then, you earn a little credibility and then you have an opportunity to get bowl level and win the championship.
“The biggest challenge, without a doubt, is I feel like when people haven’t had a lot of success, a lot of times they’re scared of success. We can’t be a university that’s scared to be successful.”
Or afraid to dream big.
“Who would have thought last year Kansas would’ve busted out and do everything they did?” senior defensive tackle Vincent Rhodes said of the Jayhawks, who produced their first upper-division North Division finish while going 12-1 and winning their first-ever BCS bowl game. “So why not us?
“The difference is just believing that you can do it.”
Briles would add to that four solid years of recruiting big, bad offensive and defensive linemen. But he’ll gladly take Rhodes’ outlook.
It’s a lot brighter than what he was getting from his daughter last winter.
“She’s kind of analytical,” Briles said with a smile. “She’s black-and-white, and I’ve got a lot of gray in me.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
“If I walked through the room and 11 other head coaches from the Big 12 walked through the room, there probably wouldn’t be a whole lot of people pointing at me saying, ‘There goes Baylor football,’” the Bears’ new coach said Wednesday.
No. What they’d likely be saying is, “There goes a guy who’ll be looking for a job again in the not-too-distant future.”
Briles understands.
Heck, even his oldest daughter, 28-year-old Jancy, recommended he not leave the comfortable situation he had at the University of Houston for Baylor’s doormat program.
One that proved impossible for the previous four head coaches to turn into a winner.
Consider that in the first 12 years of the Big 12, Baylor has finished last in the South Division 11 times. In eight of those years, the Bears had the worst overall record.
“She was just saying ‘Why would you do that, Daddy?’ And I said, ‘Why not?’” Briles said. “There’s something we’ve all got that’s called instinct, and that’s what I rely on a lot.”
It’s served him well.
As a Texas high school coach, Briles switched from a two-back, split-veer offense to a shotgun formation because he’d decided it would take more versatility to win a state championship.
He took that approach to Stephenville High — a school that had never made the playoffs — and won four titles in 12 years.
After spending three seasons as Texas Tech’s running backs coach, Briles got the Houston job and guided the Cougars to a bowl game in his first season. That came just two years after they’d gone 0-11.
In five years under Briles, Houston made four bowl trips and won its first outright conference championship in 26 seasons.
Meanwhile, Baylor, one year after going 3-5 in the Big 12 (its best-ever mark in the league), went 0-8 in 2007, and the decision was made to part ways with Guy Morriss.
Briles wound up accepting the offer to replace Morriss because of what he heard from athletic director Ian McCaw.
“I liked the fact that these people are hungry,” he said. “I’m not going to a place where people are sitting back and yawning. I like people that are leaning forward wanting to do things.”
While Briles anticipates a long road to respectability, the Bears do return nine offensive starters from a unit that averaged 351.2 yards a game (best at Baylor in 12 years).
But he also knows that last year’s squad never finished within 20 points of a Big 12 opponent.
And so he sells faith, hope and adventure, fully aware that has to turn into reality at some stage.
“What we’ve got to do is notch a couple of victories that make people look at the paper at say, ‘That happened?’ We’ve got to do something that’s unexpected,” Briles said. “Then, you earn a little credibility and then you have an opportunity to get bowl level and win the championship.
“The biggest challenge, without a doubt, is I feel like when people haven’t had a lot of success, a lot of times they’re scared of success. We can’t be a university that’s scared to be successful.”
Or afraid to dream big.
“Who would have thought last year Kansas would’ve busted out and do everything they did?” senior defensive tackle Vincent Rhodes said of the Jayhawks, who produced their first upper-division North Division finish while going 12-1 and winning their first-ever BCS bowl game. “So why not us?
“The difference is just believing that you can do it.”
Briles would add to that four solid years of recruiting big, bad offensive and defensive linemen. But he’ll gladly take Rhodes’ outlook.
It’s a lot brighter than what he was getting from his daughter last winter.
“She’s kind of analytical,” Briles said with a smile. “She’s black-and-white, and I’ve got a lot of gray in me.”
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.
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