Kendal Briles -- North Texas Head Coaching Candidate

[Harry]

Kendal Briles
Age: 32
Current position:  Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach - Baylor
Alma Mater:  Houston (Signed with UT)
Current Salary: $400K with heavy incentives
 

Kendal Briles Bio (Official Baylor Site)

 

Kendal Briles is entering his eighth season at Baylor and his first since being promoted to offensive coordinator. Briles took over the play-calling reigns in December 2014 prior to Baylor's appearance in the 2015 Cotton Bowl.

Previously Briles spent three seasons as the passing game coordinator and seven coaching the Bears' receiving corps.

A talented recruiter, Briles was named the Big 12 Recruiter of the Year in both 2013 and 2014.

Briles earned multiple Big 12 Recruiter of the Year awards in 2014 (Rivals, Scout, 247Sports) after Baylor signed a class ranked 22nd nationally by ESPN and 23rd by Scout.

Briles mentored four All-Americans and five total NFL prospects during seven seasons as wide receivers coach. He coached two of the most prolific receivers in school history, All-Americans Kendall Wright (Tennessee Titans) and Terrance Williams (Dallas Cowboys), as well as 2013 All-American Antwan Goodley and 2014 All-American Corey Coleman. His pupils also included All-Big 12 honorees and NFL signees Lanear Sampson (Pittsburgh Steelers), Tevin Reese (San Diego Chargers) and tight end Jordan Najvar (Dallas Cowboys).

As passing game coordinator, Briles helped guide a top-five ranked passing attack each of the last four seasons (No. 4 in 2014, No. 5 in 2013, No. 4 in 2012, No. 4 in 2011).

The record-setting Bears offense averaged 365.9 passing yards per-game en route to the 2014 Big 12 championship. Briles' 2014 receiving corps included honorable mention All-American Coleman (1,119 yards, 11 TDs) and All-Big 12 honoree Goodley and freshman All-American KD Cannon.

Briles was recognized in 2013 as the "Big 12 Recruiter of the Year" by Scout/FOXSportsNet and a national "Top 50 Recruiter" by 247Sports following Baylor's signing class that was ranked 24th by Athlon and 25th by Scout.com. Williams in 2012 broke the school record for single-season receiving yards (1,832) and set single-game marks of 17 receptions and 314 yards at West Virginia en route to being named just the sixth unanimous All-American in Baylor history. Wright left Baylor having established every major school receiving record (16 total) under Briles' tutelage. In addition to Wright, Briles also coached All-Big 12 honoree Reese, a sophomore in 2011 who totaled 877 yards and seven TDs on 51 receptions.

The son of head coach Art Briles entered coaching in 2008 following a highly successful high school and collegiate playing career.

A two-time Texas 4A Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-state quarterback, Briles also played safety. He totaled 9,322 total-offense yards and 98 total touchdowns over his final two high school seasons.

He spent his senior season at Wolfforth Frenship High School and earned his second Offensive Player of the Year honor after passing for 3,584 yards and 35 touchdowns while rushing for 1,074 yards and 19 scores.

As a junior, playing for his father at Stephenville High School, Kendal Briles earned 1999 Texas 4A Offensive Player of the Year recognition after leading Stephenville to a 16-0 record and the 4A state title. He passed for 3,137 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior while rushing for 1,331 yards and 16 scores. The younger Briles also earned a pair of letters in track and was an all-district basketball player.

In 2014, Briles was elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Following a standout prep career, Briles signed a national letter of intent with the University of Texas and redshirted as a true freshman in 2001. He played in seven games as a safety in 2002, but was slowed due to an ankle injury. In his first game on defense, Briles picked off two passes in the Longhorns' shutout of Baylor in 2002 to share player of the game honors.

When his father was named Houston's head coach, the younger Briles left the Longhorn program and became a Cougar. He sat out the 2003 season due to transfer rules, then caught 25 passes for 311 yards as a junior in 2004. In his final season at Houston, Briles ranked second on the team in receptions with 45 catches for 369 yards and one touchdown.

Born in Abilene, Texas, Kendal Briles worked in private business in the Houston area after graduating from the UH with a sport management degree in 2005.

Kendal and his wife, the former Sarah Reimer-Lukert, are the parents of two sons, Jaytn and Kru, and one daughter, Kinley.

 

THE BRILES FILE
Born	Nov. 10, 1982
College	Houston, 2005
Family	Wife Sarah; sons Jaytn and Kru, daughter Kinley

PLAYING EXPERIENCE
2001-02	Texas • Safety
2003-05	Houston • Wide Receiver

COACHING EXPERIENCE
2008-11	Baylor • inside receivers/offensive recruiting coordinator
2012-2014	Baylor • passing game coordinator/receivers/offensive recruiting coordinator
2015-	Baylor • offensive coordinator/quarterbacks

POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
Year	Bowl
2001	Holiday Bowl (player)
2002	Cotton Bowl (player)
2005	Fort Worth Bowl (player)
2006	Liberty Bowl (student assistant)
2010	Texas Bowl (assistant coach)
2011	Alamo Bowl (assistant coach)
2012	Holiday Bowl (passing game coordinator)
2014	Fiesta Bowl (passing game coordinator)
2015	Cotton Bowl (offensive coordinator)

 

 

 

[Harry]

Let's hear your thoughts on Kendall Briles as the next Head Coach at UNT.

[Got5onIt]

Limited coaching experience. All of his experience and success in coaching has been on his daddy's coat tails. Never faced any adversity in his short stint at BU and has all the recruiting advantages at his fingertips .

[NT93]

He was first name that came to mind when I heard Mac had been fired, but I'm not so sure now.  He has a lot of positives, but the huge negative to me is lack of head coaching experience.  That makes it a very risky hire, but the reward could also be great.

[GreenTexan13]

I would really like us to try and get him.

• He's got Texas recruiting ties and the respect of Texas high school football programs.
• He was rewarded for best OC in the Big12 I believe (We are looking for an offensive minded coach)
• A guy that will take a turnaround at UNT boost up his resume. And he is young so we don't have to worry about him becoming a retiree like Mac could possibly be.

I just don't know if he'll want to give up his gig at BU. He could be the next HC after his daddy leaves. But I want UNT to take this guy seriously and make it known to him that we are interested in interviewing him.

Edited November 2, 2015 by GreenTexan13

[DeepGreen]

No.  I'm still bitter.  He beat Port Neches-Groves in the 4A state semi-finals in the Astrodome.  Sicilians never forget.

[UNTexas]

I thought I read he isn't interested?

[LongJim]

Not enough experience.  He needs to be a coordinator for a while.  HC is a completely different animal with completely different responsibilities.

[MGNation92]

Todd Dodge - Southlake Carroll

-Great offensive mind

-Massive talent pool to accumulate great players

-Fantastic booster support

-Inherited a successful program(won three state titles before he got there, had very few losing seasons)

-Helped create a nationally recognizable program

 

Kendal Briles - Baylor

-Great offensive mind

-Massive talent pool to accumulate great players

-Fantastic booster support

-Brought a terrible program from the ashes(One can attribute the majority of this to his father though, so it's hard to find where to place credit here)

-Helped create a nationally recognized program

This situation looks oddly familiar...

 

 

[akriesman]

"I just don't know if he'll want to give up his gig at BU. He could be the next HC after his daddy leaves. But I want UNT to take this guy seriously and make it known to him that we are interested in interviewing with him."

I absolutely would consider him a candidate.   His daddy is 59 years old.  I would assume that Kendal is being groomed to take over as long as Baylor's offense continues to excel.

 

[kj86]

Splash hire for sure, but I'm scared to death of his lack of skins on the wall.

[Ben Gooding]

I've been pro Briles since Mccarney was fired. Now I want to know who he has in mind for coordinators before I personally 100% endorse this. 

[SilverEagle]

He's payed too much.

[Travis]

man, i don't know...  I am not completely settled on him.

 

[UNT90]

He has always had his dad and a job at a P5. He has no idea how hard it will be at UNT.

No thank you.

Edited November 2, 2015 by UNT90

[Ben Gooding]

He has always had his dad and a job at a P5. He has no idea how hard it will be at UNT.

No thank you.

Dan, is that you? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He will do his due diligence and see what North Texas is all about before even entering his name as a candidate. He's 32, not 15 for heaven sake. One thing that will not be hard for him is recruiting premier CUSA talent out of our own backyard. I will be very interested in who his coordinators are going to be if he comes here. 

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

He's been top on my list for a while now and my very uninformed prediction of who we will hire. 

[UNT90]

Dan, is that you? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He will do his due diligence and see what North Texas is all about before even entering his name as a candidate. He's 32, not 15 for heaven sake. One thing that will not be hard for him is recruiting premier CUSA talent out of our own backyard. I will be very interested in who his coordinators are going to be if he comes here. 

When you get older, you will realize that 32 isn't experienced. At all. 

In what universe do you think UNT and Baylor are parallel in the football recruiting?

These "insider" lists are silly. I bet none of these cats are the next head coach.

Edited November 3, 2015 by UNT90

[ADLER]

Great recruiter?

Nothing against Kendal because I don't doubt that he's a really nice guy and good coach, but....(there's always a big but)

Calling anybody that recruits to a top ten program a "great recruiter" is like calling someone that orders food from good restaurants a great chef. A ball of twine could be considered a "great recruiter" at Alabama because every top recruit is interested in playing there.

[Ben Gooding]

The landscape is changing. Winning February matters more than it ever has. Unless a 50 or 60 and in some cases a 70 year old coach is at a blueblood program it is a daunting and difficult task to keep up on the recruiting front for the other less fortunate 50, 60 and 70 year olds. Case Study #1 - Dan Mccarney. 

He is a splash hire (a bigger splash than Dodge) and he can have Dodge struggles. That is why it is highly important to get a solid understanding who he brings on as OC and DC. He will recruit better and more consistent than Dodge ever did and Dodge did well on that front. Briles can't make the same assistant mistakes and if he doesn't I think this is a golden ticket hire. 

[MeanGreenRoadrunner]

Honestly, I don't know what would make a good hire. The key word here is "splash hire" for sure.  But like I've been saying: how long would he stay?  2-4 years (good or bad)?  Has a few bad seasons, isnt up to task, goes back to Baylor.   Or, has a great turn around here and is offered a P5 contract and jumps ship.    I think I'll just keep feeding the Applewhite fire, if that's a real fire, and knowing he would be in the same ship I see Briles in.

Does Jimmy Johnson really like his job at Fox?  LOL

[Ben Gooding]

Great recruiter?

Nothing against Kendal because I don't doubt that he's a really nice guy and good coach, but....(there's always a big but)

Calling anybody that recruits to a top ten program a "great recruiter" is like calling someone that orders food from good restaurants a great chef. A ball of twine could be considered a "great recruiter" at Alabama because every top recruit is interested in playing there.

His (his dad's) system will recruit itself. He has "swagger" and that also goes a long way with 17 and 18 year olds. The environment of the entire athletic complex will be polar opposite of what it was when Mccarney was here. 

[Side Show Joe]

I think we will really get to see how good Briles is on Thursday night against K State and the following week against Oklahoma. Baylor lost their starting QB and will be starting a true freshman. I think how that high powered offense plays in these two games will say a lot about his coaching ability.

The comparisons to Dodge are ridiculous. Dodge was a high school coach. Briles has been a part of developing Baylor into a national power over the last decade.

[EagleMBA]

When you get older, you will realize that 32 isn't experienced. At all. 

In what universe do you think UNT and Baylor are parallel in the football recruiting?

These "insider" lists are silly. I bet none of these cats are the next head coach.

Fog of war. Diversions.

I think the kid needs to accomplish something on his own, away from Daddy, to solidify his own reputation. That is why he might take this job if offered.

[Mean_Green09]

I would seriously question his ability to put together a great supporting staff. 

What are his connections outside of Baylor?

Would he just be leaning on his Dad to help him fill a staff?

I was told he would want a better job or his Dad's. 

His offense would be great. He could recruit like crazy. He could make us a trendy pick for the second tier recruits. His vertical offense would fit Smith. 

Not sure I trust him running the day to day stuff of a program.