Houston AD: Briles not a candidate to be next football coach

HOUSTON (AP) - Houston athletic director Hunter Yurachek says former Baylor coach Art Briles is not a candidate to be the Cougars next coach.

The school released a statement Saturday after an ESPN report, citing unidentified sources, stated Briles would interview for the vacancy created by the departure of Tom Herman to Texas.

Yurachek said earlier this week Briles "expressed interest to me regarding the Houston head coach position."

"After discussion with University of Houston leadership, we developed a list of candidates to be interviewed that did not include Art," Yurachek said.

Briles played at Houston and coached the Cougars from 2003-07 before taking over at Baylor. He was fired earlier this year after an investigation found that school leaders, including Briles, did not appropriately respond to allegations of sexual assault, some against members of the football team.

The investigation by a Philadelphia law firm also led to the departure of school president Kenneth Starr and athletic director Ian McCaw.

Briles has said he could have done more in regards to handling claims of assault against his players. He has also said he wants to coach again.

Briles, a Texas native who spent 20 years coaching high school football in the state, went 34-28 at Houston, including 18-8 in his last two seasons with the Cougars. In eight seasons at Baylor, the Bears went 65-37 and won the Big 12 twice.