Art Briles is officially back in Texas.
Baylor fired the football coach amid a sexual assault scandal, and now after a brief stint in Italy he’s the new head coach at Mount Vernon High School, about 100 miles northeast of Dallas.
Since his hiring, WFAA has made several inquiries to speak with Briles, but we have been declined every time.
On Tuesday we spoke with him briefly while on a run in Mount Vernon.
"I'm thankful to be home," Briles said.
Before moving forward he also said Mount Vernon is a "great place" and that "I'm really thankful."
Briles also said that his attorneys are not allowing him to speak with the media.
In May, the Mount Vernon Independent School District superintendent spoke about the Briles’ hire.
“When we went into this process, we knew that it was going to come with some negativity and some attention,” superintendent Jason McCullough said.
“We believe in our community, we believe in our kids, we believe in the parents that we have, and we believe the process that we went through. We vetted Coach Briles to the best of our ability," McCullough said.
Baylor University fired Briles three years ago after an independent investigation found 17 cases of sexual assault or domestic violence by 19 of his football players.
McCullough went on to say that he did not speak with any of the football players' victims at Baylor about the hire, and he did not speak with any members of the NCAA, except for former Baylor coach Grant Teaff.
“The vetting process we went through was that we talked to people who know him personally, and who were involved into that, some who we are not able to name at this time. But we really believe that the process we went through was one that our community would be proud of and one that we know we did our job with,” McCullough said.
Sherry Palmer is a domestic violence survivor who lives in Mount Vernon. In May she said she was upset that the school moved forward with the Briles hire.
“I felt like it was a slap in the face. Not only to our community, but especially for those Baylor women,” Palmer said. “It’s also sending a message out them again that you didn’t have a voice then and you still don’t have a voice.”
Mount Vernon will begin their football season in late August.
A school spokesperson said that Briles will be made available on Monday evening to speak about his new job.
Previous WFAA Coverage:
- Mount Vernon High didn't talk with Baylor victims, NCAA about hiring Art Briles
- 'He doesn’t deserve a second chance to coach football,' says sexual assault survivor of Art Briles hire
- ‘Shame on you’ for Art Briles hire, says Fort Worth dad of woman who was raped, murdered
- Art Briles returns to Texas as Mount Vernon High head football coach