In the wake of Baylor’s 41-12 throttling of Oklahoma to kick
off week eleven of the college football season, news emerged that their head
coach Art Briles signed a contract that will keep him in Waco for the next ten
years. Of course, terms weren’t announced – they never are, not when the school
in question is a private institution – but you can bet that it’s not a small
offer. It will probably have been the payday to set Briles and his family up
for life.
More importantly, it’s job security, which seems to be a
less and less common thing in the busy world of college football. Briles is
casting his lot in with Baylor at a perfect time: there’s no doubt that the
school is on the way up. After Robert Griffin III’s Heisman year in 2011, we’ve
seen a groundswell of support and success coming out of Waco.
Years of being the Big XII punching bag seem to be in the
rear-view mirror now that Briles, who had similar success at the University of
Houston, has players of the ilk of QB Bryce Petty, RB Lache Seastrunk and WR
Tevin Reese doing their thing.
Can you, with a honestly-straight face, look at
me and tell me that, top-to-bottom, Baylor isn’t the most exciting team to
watch at the moment? Big plays on offense, they’re rolling along nicely on
defense – ask Oklahoma about that – and special teams haven’t been too shabby,
either. For the first time in perhaps ever, the Bears are nationally relevant,
ranked at fourth after another week featuring a few upsets and off to a 9-0
start for the first time in school history, good for tops in the Big XII
conference. No wonder Briles got paid.
The dilemma, though, concerns what has happened, what is
happening and what may possibly happen in the near future down in Austin, home
of the University of Texas, whose Longhorns have had an up-and-down season,
which many accustomed to runaway success on the gridiron as pinning on, or at
least looking to pin on, veteran coach Mack Brown.
It can’t please some UT folk that, Baylor and Texas A&M,
also-rans for so many years compared to the might of Longhorn football, are now
making waves far beyond what UT have done recently. The Aggies have Johnny Manziel and are taking
it to the best in the SEC and Baylor are on target to break a stack of records
– they’ve already broken some – thanks to a ridiculously prolific and
high-scoring offense.
Briles, of course, is the architect of that offense. At
Houston, he recruited Case Keenum and started that quarterback on his way to
holding basically every NCAA quarterback record worth anything, and has found a
similar sort of player in Bryce Petty, after RGIII shined, really spotlighting
the rising Baylor program, and Nick Florence had his own share of touchdowns
and passing yards last year.
Meanwhile, there’s trouble in Austin. Some there would like
to see Mack Brown out the door, and he may well be forced out if Texas don’t
somehow manage to get themselves into a good post-season Bowl game. Their 38-13
loss to Oklahoma State last weekend was the worst home loss for the ‘Horns since
Brown took over. Just after the coach had quieted his detractors with a string
of wins, they’re given fresh voice with a bad loss.
Make no mistake: Texas wants Nick Saban. Of course, they’re
not alone. Every college program wants someone of Saban’s skill to head their
problem. The difference is, Texas can pay big money to lure the Alabama coach
down into Longhorn territory. They have boosters who’ll pay whatever it might
take to get a guy like Saban wearing burnt orange.
The popular theory is that if Saban doesn’t want to go and
coach in Austin, that Art Briles might be the guy next on the Longhorn radar.
It would definitely be a good fall-back option for Texas, but the question is,
would it be a good move for Art Briles?
I say, no. Stay where you are, Art, and don’t even think
about moving!
Why? Simple. The times are changing. Right now, there is
movement afoot in Texas football. It was somewhat evident in the last few
years, and really glaringly obvious now: the balance of power is shifting. The
Longhorns, on top for so long, are sliding. Into their place comes A&M,
Baylor and even a Texas Tech unit resurgent under Kliff Kingsbury. No longer is
it a certain thing that the best prospects from the state head straight down to
Austin and enrol to be a Longhorn.
We’ve see homesick RB Lache Seastrunk leave Oregon and head
for Baylor. A few years ago, he would’ve gone to Texas, but the Bears have
turned things around and are getting legitimate athletes going there to play
football because they want to, not because no one else will take them. As
5-star recruits come in, more will follow. The groundswell is on. For coaches,
Waco is becoming a destination rather than another stop on the road to
somewhere bigger and better. It’s a place to be, and Briles is responsible,
having built a solid program that figures to only get stronger from here.
So why leave? Briles has everything he could need at Baylor:
a chance for a true rags-to-riches story, a line to some serious talent, and
the Bears are next year moving into the state-of-the-art Baylor Stadium, which
will be amongst the best in America upon completion. Even his defense, a weak
link a few years ago, is progressing nicely.
Most importantly, there is a lot more freedom and a lot less
pressure on the coach of the Baylor Bears than on the coach of the Texas
Longhorns. School administrators at Texas demand instant success, and there’s a
giant weight of expectation coming from a rabid fan base, too. Baylor are new
to success, so a few speed-bumps along the way aren’t going to provoke so much
angst.
I mean, half of Longhorn nation wanted Mack Brown out after
two weeks. He might oversee a 9-win season and they’re thinking about showing
him the door. Basically, in Austin, if you’re not winning your conference and
challenging for a National Championship every season – okay, maybe they’re
allowed a down year every now and again, but not two or three strung together –
you’re on the Hot Seat.
Yes, Texas can throw a heap of money at a coach – but those
dollars come with an extraordinary amount of stress, too. On the other hand, in
Waco, there’s bound to be a lot less stress. Every school wants to win, but
there isn’t a ‘win now or else’ mentality yet.
Who knows what the future may bring? With the uptick of
Baylor football, there’s every chance that Texas won’t be the one big-time
program in the state. It’s tracking the way of there being a few programs being
able to attract the top-end talent that the Lone Star State is famous for.
Instead of Texas getting all but the occasional player falling though the
recruiting cracks, I have a feeling that the battle between the Longhorns,
Bears, Aggies and Red Raiders is going to heat up.
Briles should know by now that he doesn’t need to be in
Austin to get the very best talent. He’s proven to himself – and everyone else
– that he can attract legitimate five-star recruits to Waco. Why not stay there
and continue the work that has already started? Keep building the program up,
and you’ll soon be spoken about in the same breath as the Longhorns, the
supposed big brother of Texas football: nationally relevant, and a giant
television draw. It can be done, and if Briles sticks around, his name will
forever be legendary around Waco.
Surely, Art, that’s going to be more rewarding than taking
over a program built up by someone else?
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