News
 

Maggard chooses former Coog Briles

By Ed De La Garza
The Daily Cougar

The UH football program will welcome a familiar face back to campus when Art Briles is introduced as the Cougars' next head coach at 2 p.m. today in the Athletics/Alumni Center. A source within the Athletics Department confirmed Briles, who was a wide receiver at UH from 1974-77, would become the program's 10th head coach.

"I've made no comment on any of our candidates, any announcements or anything else," Athletics Director Dave Maggard said.

Maggard was mums on the hire, but Briles apparently came highly recommended, with former head coach Bill Yeoman, Texas Tech University senior quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, boosters and Texas high school coaches all speaking on his behalf. Briles spent the past three seasons as running backs coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Briles won't only be coming back to the Cougars. He'll also be close to his daughter, who began attending UH this semester.

"I think it's exciting and a great opportunity for him," freshman pre-pharmacy major Jancy Briles said. "He's a good motivator and a strong leader who can make people believe in how he sees things and how they need to be done."

"It's just kind of been a whirlwind waiting for the deal to get finalized," she said.

Art Briles was in Houston on Wednesday for a sit-down interview with Maggard. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Briles will come to UH just 12 days after former head coach Dana Dimel was dismissed Nov. 24. Though the list of potential candidates grew to include University of Alabama offensive coordinator Les Koenning on Wednesday, it became increasingly clear Maggard was leaning toward hiring a Cougar. Former players Robert Ford, Tommy Kaiser and Clarence Shelmon were also considered.

Kaiser said he was disappointed about not getting the job, but said, "That's part of coaching and life. You don't always get what you want, but I wish him the best. (Briles' ) a great choice," he said.

Kaiser would not comment about whether he would come on board to join Briles' coaching staff. "He's going to decide that for himself," he said.

The source told The Daily Cougar that specifics in Briles' contract should be worked out within the next couple of weeks. KRIV-TV reported he had agreed to a five-year deal.

Briles will be asked to lead a Cougar team that went 8-26 under Dimel, including a 0-11 record in 2001. Fan support has dwindled in recent years with just more than 11,000 having attended UH's season-ending game against Louisville on Saturday.

Briles comes to UH with a wealth of high school recruiting knowledge. Prior to joining the Red Raiders in 2000, he was head coach at Stephenville High School, about 100 miles southwest of Dallas.

From 1988-99, Stephenville went 136-29-2, won four state championships and fielded a '98 team that racked up 8,650 yards of offense. He had five quarterbacks throw for more than 3,000 yards.

He has also coached at Sundown, Sweetwater, Hamlin and Georgetown. He has never been a coordinator in college.

Though the ground game took a backseat to head coach Mike Leach's passing offense this season, Briles developed a running back into the team's primary receiving threat. Taurean Henderson only rushed for 773 yards, but he caught a Tech-record 90 passes in 2002.

"This is a good opportunity for (Briles) and we wish him the best at the University of Houston. I think they made a great choice," Tech athletic director Gerald Myers told The Dallas Morning News.

Briles played for the Cougars until '77, but he received his Bachelor of Arts from Tech in '79 and his master's degree in education from Abilene Christian University.

He is married with three children. Aside from Jancy, son Kendal is a redshirt freshman with the University of Texas Longhorns and second daughter Staley is a high school junior.

 Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu