It appears that Cougars football head coach Art Briles will once again test the job market.
The Houston Chronicle’s Michael Murphy reported Monday night that Briles will travel to Dallas today to interview for the vacant head-coaching job with the Baylor Bears. The position opened after former Baylor coach Guy Morriss was fired on Nov. 18 following a dismal 3-9 finish and 0-8 mark in Big 12 play.
UH athletics director Dave Maggard gave Briles permission to interview for the Baylor job.
"We talked about it," Maggard told the Houston Chronicle. "I asked if he really felt that he needed to do this, and he said that it was something he needed to do. I told him that I wanted him to stay in Houston. That was it."
Briles could not be reached for comment late Monday night.
Briles, 51, has a 34-28 record in five seasons at Houston and has led the Cougars (8-4, 6-2 Conference USA) to bowl games in four of those seasons. He also led Houston to last season’s C-USA championship, the school’s first conference title since 1996.
This development is similar to last season when Briles interviewed for the then-vacant Iowa State coaching job prior to the Cougars’ 34-20 victory over Southern Miss in the C-USA Championship Game on Dec. 1, 2006. Briles was passed over for the job for former University of Texas assistant head coach Gene Chizik.
However, Maggard offered Briles a five-year contract extension that increased his salary to $900,000 and could surpass $1 million with incentives just over a week after the Cougars’ win in the C-USA Championship Game. Briles signed the deal, and that was enough to keep him solidly entrenched as the Cougars’ head coach heading into this season.
The outcome could be slightly different now.
Briles, whose team will play in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28 at Reliant Stadium, has put together his second consecutive season of at least eight wins and presents an attractive option for a school such as Baylor, which finished its 12th consecutive losing season.
Baylor, which hasn’t been to a bowl since 1994, was a laughingstock under Morriss, who was 18-40 overall (7-33 in the Big 12) in five seasons.
