Former Houston offensive coordinator Kendal Briles has accepted the same position at Florida State, the school announced Sunday. Briles resigned from his position following the Cougars' 70-14 loss to Army in the Armed Forces Bowl Saturday afternoon. He replaces Walt Bell, who was hired away earlier in December to coach UMass. In addition to his duties as offensive coordinator, Briles will also serve as quarterbacks coach for the Seminoles.
"I am incredibly humbled by this opportunity and appreciate Coach Taggart's trust in me," Briles said. "I also appreciate him supporting my desire to finish this season at my alma mater by coaching in our bowl game yesterday. We both understand what this offense should be, and I have complete confidence in our ability to meet the goals he has for us. Sarah and I are excited to be part of Florida State and are looking forward to integrating ourselves within the Tallahassee and FSU communities."
Briles just completed his first season at Houston, and was previously connected to the open job at Texas State, which eventually went to former West Virginia offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. Briles then agreed to a three-year deal to stay as Houston's OC worth $2.1 million, per the Houston Chronicle, which would have made him the highest-paid assistant at a non-Power Five program. Houston ranked sixth nationally with 43.9 points per game this past season despite a season-ending injury to quarterback D'Eriq King.
"I'm excited about the addition of Kendal to our staff," Florida State coach Willie Taggart said. "He brings play-calling experience and familiarity with the type of scheme and tempo we will run, which is similar to the offenses he has coordinated. His ability to recruit, manage an offensive staff, develop quarterbacks and make in-game adjustments will be beneficial to us as we evolve in our offense. Kendal has success at the Power 5 level and has also shown his adaptability to personnel and situations that occur during a season. He had multiple opportunities following the 2018 season and we feel the fit here will be a good one."
Prior to his stint at Houston, Briles was the offensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic under coach Lane Kiffin in 2017. The Owls posted a top-10 offense in points per game and total offense. From 2008-16, he was an assistant for his father, Art Briles, at Baylor. Though Briles was part of a coaching staff that turned the Bears into a Big 12 power, he exited in the fallout of a widespread sexual assault scandal that involved multiple members of the football team.
