NFL: Art Briles Firing Another Wake Up Call for NFL Coaches
The firing of Baylor football coach Art Briles is a reminder that times are changing in sports. Character matters now more than ever.
Baylor University shocked the football world on Thursday when they suspended head football coach Art Briles indefinitely with an intent to terminate. Briles’s termination is the result of a number of sexual assault incidents that have involved Baylor football players the last three years.
Related Story: Miami Dolphins: Dion Jordan Seeking Reinstatement
The most notable sexual abuse allegation was against former Bears defensive end Shawn Oakman, who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in March. The accusation cost the young man dearly as he was not selected in April’s NFL draft.
Oakman came to Baylor after being dismissed from Penn State for violating team rules. He arraived with some baggage but Briles took a chance on him because of his immense physical talent. He knew that the defender had character issues, but he was willing to overlook some of those issues and give Oakman a second chance.
Briles also gave former Boise State defensive enda second chance after Ukwuachu was dismissed from the program in 2013. After transferring to Baylor, Ukwuachu was convicted of sexually assaulting a female Baylor soccer player in 2013.
As a result of the conviction, the head coach got a lot of heat for allowing him into the program, especially because he knew that Ukwuachu had some domestic violence issues.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Briles’s termination is proof that times are changing in football. Character counts now more than ever and coaches at all levels of the sport are starting to realize that character is just as important as physical talent. Football is the ultimate talent sport but if a talented players lacks morals and character, they can hurt your team more than they can help it. Or, in the case of Briles, they can cost you your job.
As someone who has coached football for 21 years at the college and high school levels, I have seen first hand the laissez-faire attitude some football coaches have regarding players with character issues. These coaches think they can rehabilitate players with character issues and get the most out of them. If it were only that easy. Most coaches end up failing because they don’t actually care about the player, they only care about winning.
must read: 2016 NFL Rules Affect Kicking Game, Player Safety
We’ve already seen some impact of this in today’s NFL, due to the mistakes made by players.
The much-discussed Ray Rice situation cost the former Baltimore Ravens running back his career to date. Defensive end Greg Hardy is a talented player who totaled six sacks with the Dallas Cowboys in 2015. He remains an unrestricted free agent and there’s apparently hasn’t been any interest in him.
The Briles firing has put football coaches on notice. They must keep their house in order or else they will suffer the same fate. Character counts isn’t just some cliche, it matters. Now more than ever, coaches better embrace this notion or else they won’t be coaching.