Lane Kiffin Downplays Art Briles’s Role With FAU Offense
Disgraced former Baylor coach Art Briles is "absolutely not a consultant" for Florida Atlantic, FAU coach Lane Kiffin told ESPN.
"Somebody texted me and wanted to know why I hired Art Briles, and I was like, 'What?'" Kiffin said. "He's absolutely not a consultant and has never been to practice or spoken to our team. That's classic 'somebody trying to make it a story' because it's Art Briles and Lane Kiffin."
Briles may not be involved with the Owls in any official capacity but he is advising the coaching staff.
Kiffin hired Briles’s son Kendal as his offensive coordinator and the younger Briles told reporters on Sunday that he seeks out his father’s advice on football matters, including showing him film and discussing personnel moves. Kiffin, too, has turned to Briles for counsel.
"Every once in a while, I’ll text or call him and bounce something off of him," Kiffin said, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Kendal Briles, 34, was also the offensive coordinator under his father at Baylor. Kiffin hired him to be a part of his new staff at FAU before this season, where Briles is installing the fast-paced spread offense his father used to turn Baylor into a top program.
The elder Briles was fired by Baylor after a report commissioned by the school found football officials had improperly handled sexual assault allegations against players. A lawsuit filed early this year by a woman who says she was raped by two Baylor football players alleges the younger Briles once asked a recruit, "Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at Baylor and they love football players."
