Houston Cougars go Bowling in our own backyard, soon to be Coach-less?
The same week the University of Houston Cougars accepted an invitation to play in their hometown Texas Bowl on Dec. 28, held in Houston at Reliant Stadium, it was announced that Houston head coach Art Briles is a front-runner for the newly vacant job in Waco. Baylor fired coach Guy Moriss following their 12th straight losing season and a winless year in the Big 12. Briles interviewed with Baylor’s AD today in Dallas. From the Houston Chronicle:
“Art asked for permission to talk to Baylor, and I said OK,” said UH athletic director Dave Maggard. “We talked about it. 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.”
Say it ain’t so, Art. Or if it is so, at least win us a damn bowl game before you go.
- ESPN: Houston accept Texas Bowl invitation
- Houston Chronicle: UH: No formal offer yet from Baylor to Briles
- Dallas Morning News: Houston’s Briles will meet with Baylor AD today
- Waco Tribune: Despite rumors, Briles hiring not a ‘done deal’
- Houston Chronicle: Houston hopes to change its fortunes
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Houston Chronicle: UH to conduct national search for successor
Briles met with the players Wednesday afternoon to tell them he was leaving for Waco, but by that time they already knew what was coming.
“We knew beforehand that it was time to say goodbye,” said senior linebacker Brendan Pahulu. “Everybody was quiet. That’s all I can say – everybody was quiet. He really didn’t have that much to say.
“He did good for us when he was here, but I wish he could have stayed for one more game. We had one more goal this season, which is to win a bowl game. He left that one goal out there for us, just standing out there in the rain.”
The Briles era is officially over, not even one last game to close out the season.
According to the Houston Chronicle Briles announced the decision to accept the head coaching gig at Baylor. Hard to blame him - the move doubles his salary to $1.8 million a year. He’ll be earning every penny if he can perform the same kind of turnaround at Baylor that he did at UH.