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Houston hires Kendal Briles as offensive coordinator

Nick Bromberg
College football and motorsports writer
Kendal Briles was at Baylor for nine seasons before spending 2017 at FAU. (Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune Herald via AP, file)
Kendal Briles was at Baylor for nine seasons before spending 2017 at FAU. (Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune Herald via AP, file)

Kendal Briles is moving from Florida Atlantic to Houston.

The former Baylor offensive coordinator and son of former Baylor coach Art Briles is the new offensive coordinator for Houston. The school announced Briles’ hire on Saturday and he’ll also serve as an associate head coach to Major Applewhite.

“My family and I are excited to return to Houston where my wife and I met while both competing for Houston Athletics,” Briles said in a statement. “I have personal stock in how the University of Houston performs with first-hand knowledge of the department’s values, and I am fully committed to ensuring Houston is represented fittingly on and off the field.”

While Briles’ father hasn’t found a coaching job since he was fired at Baylor in May of 2016, Kendal Briles had no issue finding a job after he left Baylor. After serving as the team’s coordinator under interim coach Jim Grobe in 2016 — and even wearing wristbands with his father’s initials on them at one point — Briles got a job as Florida Atlantic’s offensive coordinator in 2017.

Not long after Briles was hired by Lane Kiffin at FAU he was mentioned in a lawsuit that alleged Baylor players had committed over 50 rapes in a four-year period. Briles was mentioned in the suit as asking a player if he liked white women “because we have a lot of them at Baylor and they love football players.”

After seven years as an assistant at Baylor, Briles became the team’s offensive coordinator in 2015.

Briles wasn’t the only former Baylor coach hired by Houston. The program is also bringing in Randy Clements as its offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Clements spent the 2017 season at Southeastern University after nine years at Baylor and five seasons at Houston, all under Art Briles, Houston’s head coach from 2003-2007.

“Our family is thrilled to return to the University of Houston. It was an honor to help set the base for what the football program has been able to build and it’s humbling to have the ability to come back and help take it to greater heights,” said Clements. “It is a Tier One university with high standards and we look forward to upholding those standards and competing on a championship level.”

Houston officials say both hires were thoroughly vetted.

Added Applewhite: “We are excited to welcome Kendal, Randy and their families back to Houston. They have extensive knowledge of our program and its standards, and we know they will be the right fit. They both have been a part of some of the nation’s top offenses with multiple programs and have shown the ability to learn and adapt while staying thoroughly tied into our state’s landscape in terms of recruiting. Throughout this process we have researched their abilities and backgrounds with several references and have received glowing praise.”

Briles also has a morality clause in his contract that says he can be fired with cause if undisclosed information about Baylor comes out.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!