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Former embattled Baylor football coach Art Briles will not join the coaching staff of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, according to a statement issued Monday by the team and league. "Art Briles will no longer be joining the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a coach," the statement reads. "We came to this decision this evening following a lengthy discussion between the league and the Hamilton ofganization. We wish Mr. Briles all the best in his future endeavours."
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CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie reportedly became involved in the discussions to remove Briles from Hamilton's coaching staff.
Briles, 61, was dismissed at Baylor last year after a university investigation of its handling of allegations of sexual assaults by students, which included football players.
Former Hawai'i and SMU coach June Jones was named the Tiger-Cats' head coach on Thursday, when they were 0-8. Jones hired Briles as the team's assistant head coach for offense, but according to ESPN.com, Briles' hiring drew immediate criticism from Canadian news outlets as well as from Tiger-Cats fans on social media.
The hiring of Briles was viewed as a way to get quarterback Robert Griffin III, who is an NFL free agent at the moment, to join Hamilton. He is on the Tiger-Cats negotiation list and they have exclusive rights to sign him if he wants to play in the CFL. Griffin won the Heisman Trophy while playing for Briles at Baylor.
Briles has been out of coaching since May 2016, when Baylor officials suspended him before his dismissal.
He coached at Baylor from 2008 to 2015 and had a 65-37 record. The Bears won a share of the Big 12 title in 2013 and 2014.
