Art Briles will be on the sidelines in Texas again.
The Mount Vernon Independent School District (Texas) announced in a press release Friday night that the former Baylor and Houston coach will serve as head coach at Mount Vernon High School.
Briles was fired by Baylor in 2016 amid the school's sexual assault scandal.
“High school
Football is a Texas institution. As a coach, it’s my first love. You’ll make no bigger impact in this world than when you shape the lives of young people — one practice, one game, and one life at a time. I am excited to be coaching at Mount Vernon this fall,” Briles said in the statement, which did not mention "Baylor."
Earlier this year, Briles was removed from consideration in the Southern Mississippi offensive coordinator search. In 2017, it was announced he would be joining the staff of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, only for the league to announce hours later that he no longer would be. Briles was most recently coach of an American football team in Italy.
"After a thorough due diligence process and several earnest conversations, we believe our students will benefit greatly from his skills and experience,” said Jason McCullough, the Mount Vernon school district's superintendent.
Briles went 99-65 in 13 seasons between the Cougars and Bears, but the cause for his exit from Baylor cast an ugly shadow over his accomplishments as a coach.
"I have learned many lessons during my time as a coach. Some lessons are born out of success and others out of failure. But they all present opportunities to grow, to learn, and to teach, as we strive for excellence both on and off the field,” Briles said in Mount Vernon's statement.
The statement said his deal is for two years and was approved by the school district's Board of Trustees on Friday. Briles went 166-46-4 with four Texas state championships before moving on to the college game after the 1999 season.