Art Briles Had Six-Year Deal in Place to Become Texas Head Coach: "I Was There"

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The Texas Longhorns had a deal in place to make Art Briles the head coach following the departure of Mack Brown after the 2013 season.

Fortunately for Texas, things fell through with the former Baylor Bears head coach, and the Longhorns would end up hiring Charlie Strong.

Briles told On3's Brett McMurphy that he had agreed to a six-year deal to become the next head coach at Texas in 2014 prior to Baylor's appearance in the Fiesta Bowl that winter. But after the Bears lost 52-42 to UCF to end the season, Briles changed his mind, a decision that completely altered the trajectory of both Texas and Baylor.

Art Briles: "It Made Sense" to Join Texas

"I mean I was there," Briles told On3. "If we'd won our bowl game, I would have left Baylor 100%. It was done for me because I'm a Texas guy and (my son) Kendal played there. So it made sense."

Briles remained at Baylor after what marked one of the best seasons in program history. But a little over two years later after his decision to turn down the Texas job, Briles was fired by Baylor University.

A massive sexual assault scandal revealed that Briles knew about sexual misconduct and rape allegations against multiple players dating back to 2012. Briles swept these allegations under the rug and didn't report them to the university, allowing the perpetrators to continue going unpunished while the victims were left seeking justice.

Texas Dodged a Massive Bullet

Had Briles accepted the Texas job, it would have only been a matter of time until the legal findings of sexual assaul scandal came to light. It's a shame that the people of Baylor University

The horrific controversy that tarnished Briles' legacy at Baylor would have suddenly involved Texas to a smaller degree.

If Briles had become head coach at Texas, the legal findings would have eventually surfaced and the Longhorns would have fired him after two years on the job and would have to find another head coach while simultaneously dealing with the negative spotlight around Briles.

Though Charlie Strong never had a winning season in his three years at Texas, he represented the university the right way as a kind man with an infectious smile.

Not among of wins or national titles would have been worth it for Texas to have Briles wearing the burnt orange instead.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/texas as Art Briles Had Six-Year Deal in Place to Become Texas Head Coach: "I Was There".

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