Houston football on Saturday announced the hiring of former Baylor assistants Kendal Briles and Randy Clements.
Briles, son of former Baylor coach Art Briles, will take over as Houston's associate head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Clements will take over as run game coordinator and offensive line coach.
MORE: Baylor settles first lawsuit related to sexual assault allegations
The #HTownTakeover welcomes Kendal Briles (Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/QBs Coach) and Randy Clements (Run Game Coordinator/OL Coach) to its coaching staff.
— #HTownTakeover (@UHCougarFB) January 6, 2018
Full iinfo: https://t.co/cFV55VlBw1 pic.twitter.com/dKlYD0qBNn
The hires are controversial, considering both coaches were on hand during Baylor's sexual assault scandal. Briles is listed in an ongoing Title IX civil suit against Baylor. He also received an NCAA sanction for recruiting violations during the 2015 season.
"Every hire in our athletics department, from the top to bottom, is an important one and we vet every candidate for employment in our department," said Chris Pezman, Houston's vice president of intercollegiate athletics. "We have done our research on the backgrounds of both Kendal and Randy, and Coach (Major) Applewhite has been in close contact with myself and our university leadership providing all necessary information and to gain approval."
"Throughout this process we have researched their abilities and backgrounds with several references and have received glowing praise," Applewhite said in the statement.
Briles' talent as a coach was put on display in 2017 as he helped engineer one of the nation's most explosive offenses at Florida Atlantic. His hiring there also stirred controversy, with FAU coach Lane Kiffin eventually being forced to defend his choice to hire Briles.
Clements returns to Houston after spending five seasons there under Art Briles. Clements also worked under Briles at Baylor, starting in 2008.
