Go Bears!
GO Bears!
Go Bears!


 Art Briles
Art Briles
High School:
Rule (Texas) High School
Last College:
B.A., Texas Tech, 1979
Position:
Head Coach
Master's:
Abilene Christian, 1984
THE BRILES FILE
ART BRILES
Born Dec. 3, 1955
High School Rule [Texas] HS
College Texas Tech, 1979 (B.A.)
Abilene Christian, 1984 (M.E.)
Family wife: Jan
children: Jancy, Kendal & Staley Lebby
grandson: Jaytn
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
Level School, Position
High School Rule [Texas] HS / All-State QB
College Univ. of Houston / Wide Receiver
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Year School, Position
1979 Sundown HS, assistant coach
1980-84 Sweetwater HS, assistant coach
1984-86 Hamlin HS, head coach/AD
1986-88 Georgetown HS, head coach/AD
1988-99 Stephenville HS, head coach/AD
2000-03 Texas Tech, running backs
2003-07 Univ. of Houston, head coach
2008-present Baylor, head coach
HEAD COACHING RECORD
Year School Record Conf. Record
2003 Houston 7-6 4-4
2004 Houston 3-8 3-5
2005 Houston 6-6 4-4
2006 Houston 10-4 7-1
2007 Houston 8-4 6-2
2008 Baylor 4-8 2-6
2009 Baylor 4-8 1-7
2010 Baylor 7-6 4-4
2011 Baylor 10-3 6-3
Career 9 Seasons 59-53 33-36

A major step was taken in Art Briles' transformation of the Baylor football program in 2010, when he led the Bears to a 7-6 record and the school's first bowl game in 16 years. After a record-breaking season which saw Baylor spend multiple weeks ranked in the polls and set a record for Big 12 Conference victories, the Bears advanced to the 2010 Texas Bowl against Illinois--the school's first bowl game since a 1994 trip to the Alamo Bowl. Baylor's accomplishments earned Briles the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region 4 Coach of the Year award.

Briles' Bears rolled to seven wins--the school's most since 1995--behind a powerful offense that set or tied 55 school records (22 team and 33 individual), including total offensive yards (6,179), passing yards (3,649), average yards per rush (5.4) and scoring (405). The offense was powerful as well as balanced, Baylor was one of three schools in 2010 to rank in the top 25 nationally in both rushing (24th) and passing (19th) offense.

The winning brought a level of excitement to Central Texas not felt in years, as fans came out in record numbers -- Baylor's average home attendance of 40,043 was the school's highest since 1995 and the total mark of 240,259 ranks third in Floyd Casey Stadium history.

A native West Texan, Briles became Baylor's 25th head coach on Nov. 28, 2007, ushering in a new era and a new attitude to the storied Bears football program. From his first game on the sidelines in Waco it was quickly evident that the Briles regime was underway at Baylor; from the innovative offense, to the reintroduction of a solid running game, to competitive games and no acceptance of moral victories.

Briles immediately implemented a solid foundation for future success. Baylor's steady improvement under Briles is also evidenced in the last three recruiting classes his staff put together (2009, 2010 and 2011) - the school's highest-ranked signing classes in the Big 12 era. The 2011 signing class was ranked 46th nationally by Rivals.com and included position ratings for offensive linemen and defensive tackles in the top 30.

After a promising start, the 2009 season suffered injury setbacks in the season's first month, including the season-ending loss of superstar quarterback and face-of-the-program Robert Griffin III in the third game (all told, eight different starters missed games in 2009 due to injury). The Bears remained competitive, but a season that began with a road win over ACC power Wake Forest and the team receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll ended with a 4-8 record. The Bears notched a second impressive road victory in 2009, upsetting Missouri 40-32 in Columbia.

Briles' 2008 Bears squad finished with a 4-8 record, but six of eight defeats were at the hands of ranked opponents (four in top 10) and three losses came by a touchdown or less.

Highlights of Briles' first season at Baylor included the emergence of sensational true freshman QB Griffin, the Big 12's top newcomer and freshman All-American, a rushing attack that ranked 21st nationally and third in the Big 12 with 195.8 yards per game (2,349 yards, most since 1981) and 29 TDs, and a memorable 41-21 home win over Texas A&M.

Baylor's 1.33 turnover margin ranked fourth nationally and junior linebacker Joe Pawelek ranked seventh nationally in tackles (10.7) and interceptions (.50).

Briles is a proven developer of pro talent, evidenced over the last four NFL drafts where his protégés included a pair of first-rounders in 2010 (21st pick DL Phil Taylor and 23rd pick OL Danny Watkins) the first lineman selected in 2009 (second overall pick OL Jason Smith from Baylor), the first receiver selected in 2008 (33rd pick Donnie Avery of Houston) and the third QB selected in 2007 (36th pick Kevin Kolb of UH).

Briles came to Baylor after resurrecting the University of Houston football program in a five-year stretch from 2003 to 2007.

After inheriting a Houston program that was just two years removed from an 0-11 season, Briles won eight total games from 2000 to 2003, posted a 34-28 record with the Cougars and guided them to four bowl games. He ranks as the program's third-winningest head coach behind College Football Hall of Famer Bill Yeoman (160 wins in 26 seasons) and Clyde Lee (37 victories in seven seasons).

Briles guided Houston to an 8-4 regular-season record and a Texas Bowl invitation in his final season (he did not coach the Cougars in the bowl game). Coupled with their 10-win 2006 campaign, the Cougars registered consecutive seasons of at least eight victories for the first time since the 1989 (nine) and 1990 (10) campaigns. The 2007 Cougars finished the season ranked fourth nationally in total offense (501.9 ypg) and made college football history by becoming the first program to produce a 300-yard receiver and a 200-yard rusher in the same game.

In 2006, Briles earned Conference USA and Sportexe Division I-A National Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Cougars to a Conference USA title, a Liberty Bowl appearance and the program's first 10-win season since 1990 with a final mark of 10-4.

The Cougars enjoyed the nation's seventh-best turnaround in 2006, a four-game improvement in the win column over their 6-6 mark in 2005. Houston's 2006 C-USA title, just five years removed from a winless 2001 campaign, marked only the fifth time in the past 30 seasons that a I-A program went from winless to conference champions.

One of nine finalists for the 2006 Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year award, Briles' offense led Conference USA and ranked sixth nationally at 439.9 yards per game. Cougar quarterback Kevin Kolb was Conference USA's consensus 2006 Offensive Player of the Year, as 13 Houston student-athletes earned postseason honors from the media and 12 were honored by the league's coaches. Kolb ended his career ranked third in NCAA history for total offense and fourth in passing yards.

Briles' 2005 UH team finished 6-6 overall, led Conference USA in total offense and played in the Fort Worth Bowl, and his 2004 squad was 3-8.

His rookie season at UH saw the Cougars make school history; as they finished 7-6 and earned a berth in the 2003 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. He became just the second UH head coach to take Houston to a bowl game in his first season at the helm, joining Yeoman, his college coach. Briles' innovative offense produced a 1,000-yard rusher (Anthony Evans), a 1,000-yard receiver (Brandon Middleton) and a 3,000-yard passer (Kolb)-one of only five Division I-A teams to accomplish that feat.

Briles arrived to Houston from Texas Tech, where he spent three years (2000-02) as the Red Raiders' running backs coach. The Tech ground game flourished under Briles' direction, increasing its production every year and producing a 2001 first-team All-Big 12 performer in Ricky Williams. The Red Raiders won seven or more games each season Briles was on Mike Leach's staff and went bowling every year.

Prior to moving into the collegiate coaching ranks at Texas Tech, Briles spent 12 seasons (1988-99) as head coach and athletic director at Stephenville [Texas] High School. His Yellowjacket teams won four state championships, capturing back-to-back crowns in 1993 and 1994 and repeating that feat in 1998 and 1999.

Briles, a former Texas High School Coaches Association president, has spent his entire coaching career in the state of Texas. Following in his father's footsteps, Briles began his coaching career as an assistant at Sundown [Texas] High School in 1979 before moving to Sweetwater [Texas] High School as an assistant from 1980-83. He landed his first head coaching job at Hamlin [Texas] High School (1984-86), where he also served as athletic director.

From Hamlin, Briles went to Georgetown [Texas] High School as head coach and athletic director for two seasons (1986-87) before moving to Stephenville in 1988. While coaching in the high school ranks, Briles developed six Division I quarterbacks and had five signal callers throw for over 3,000 yards in a season.

A former wide receiver for the Cougars from 1974 to 1977, Briles was a member of the 1976 Cougar squad that captured the Southwest Conference championship in UH's first season in the league. He later played in the 1977 Cotton Bowl against fifth-ranked Maryland, a game the Cougars won 30-21.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Tech in 1979 and a Masters of Education degree from Abilene Christian in 1984.

A Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame inductee for his West Texas exploits, Briles and his wife, Jan, have three children: Jancy, a UH graduate who works in the Dallas Cowboys Public Relations office; Kendal, a Cougar letterman and UH graduate who serves as an assistant coach on his father's Baylor staff; and Staley Lebby, a UH graduate. Briles was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in April 2008.