Disgraced former Baylor head football coach Art Briles is proving he can still recruit, even when he’s drawing coaches rather than athletes.
Briles, who was recently appointed as the head football coach at Mount Vernon (Texas) High School, landed a prime assistant on Tuesday, with Gatesville (Texas) head football coach Kyle Cooper stepping down from his role to take an assistant’s position at Mount Vernon.
Cooper was not a new head coach at Gatesville. Rather, he held the position for 12 years before school officials announced his pending departure Tuesday.
The move is a curious one for a man who already had a head coaching role, traditionally the apex of the profession. Instead, Cooper decided that the opportunity to learn from a legendary offensive football mind was worthy of moving his family to East Texas and taking on a lower role.
With Cooper on board, it will be fascinating to see who else will jump ship specifically to land and learn from Briles. There’s no question the former Baylor man has the skills and, rapidly, the staff to make a difference in Texas’ lower divisions. All eyes are on who is next.
