Fansided

Art Briles to sue Baylor over wrongful termination

By John Buhler

Jan 1, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Art Briles against the Central Florida Knights during the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Art Briles against the Central Florida Knights during the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Art Briles isn’t looking to settle for a buyout from Baylor University, as the former head football coach is suing the school for ‘wrongful termination’.

Former Baylor Bears head football coach Art Briles filed a motion on Thursday towards his former employer, as “Briles has accused the school of wrongful termination and said it used him as a ‘scapegoat'”.

Briles and Baylor University are in the midst of a festering quagmire with regards to their Power 5 football team. The former Big 12 doormat became a national powerhouse during the Briles era (2008-15) in Waco, going 65-37 and winning two Big 12 Championships.

However, the lack of institutional control surrounding the athletic department and the university during a cringeworthy sexual assault scandal has Baylor fighting for its livelihood with the NCAA.

The university may have used Briles as a fall guy, but with threats of the NCAA using the ominous Death Penalty on the football program, the school had to part ways with Briles to even think about limiting NCAA sanctions.

This lawsuit of Briles’ comes about days after a supposed vote among major Baylor boosters to reinstate him as head coach after serving a one-year suspension this fall was only hearsay, it was only a matter of time before Briles’ camp would go after Baylor in this bitter divorce.

While the supposed vote to reinstate him didn’t actually happen, Baylor University had stated that they were in the process of buying out Briles’ massive contract. To think that the departed head coach wasn’t going to go down swinging was bad foresight by the university.

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Given the Briles brought the Baylor program to new heights, which allowed the team to relocate to new McLane Stadium after years of toiling away in decrepit Floyd Casey Stadium in relative obscurity, money is a huge issue here with the troubled university and the fired head coach. This litigation could prove costly, as Briles’ isn’t looking for a settlement.

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