Chalk up another losing season for the Baylor Bears, and give an F to the athletic department.
Baylor (3-8) was abysmal this year on both sides of the ball, and managed to go winless in Big 12 play. Conference opponents outscored Baylor by an average of 30.5 points a game this season.
With the results offering little promise, athletic director Ian McCaw fired head coach Guy Morriss following the Bears’ loss to Oklahoma State. Morriss, who went 18-40 in his five years at Baylor, never managed to produce a winning season.
The Bears haven’t seen the right side of .500 since 1995. They haven't been to a bowl game in 12 years. Only seven other Division-I teams have gone longer without a bowl appearance.
All signs seemed to point to Baylor legend and San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach Mike Singletary to be at the top of McCaw’s list. Fans supported the idea of seeing Singletary stroll the sidelines at Floyd Casey Stadium next year.
But McCaw contacted Singletary the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to discuss the opening at Baylor. Somewhere along the line, Singletary discovered he wasn’t a match for Baylor.
The most disheartening aspect for Baylor fans is why Singletary turned the job down.
"I told Ian that I know what a national championship looks like. I think I said exactly this: Unless you're talking about doing what it takes to win a national championship, you're talking to the wrong person,” Singletary said.
Fans should be ashamed of Baylor’s commitment to athletics. If winning isn’t a priority, then Baylor should get out of the Big XII. This isn’t Pop Warner—it's Division I-A football. Programs at this level should want to win.
If the athletic director doesn’t have winning national championships atop his to-do list, then something’s wrong.
When reporters attempted to contact McCaw, he said he would avoid public comment until a new coach was hired—just another example of Baylor burying its tail between its legs.
Rumors circulated that former University of Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt was second on the AD's list, but before McCaw could make his move, Ole Miss hired Nutt.
After missing out on their top two choices, Baylor called a press conference today to announce the next head football coach. It seems the man for the job is University of Houston head coach Art Briles.
Briles has gone 34-28 as head coach for the Cougars and claimed the Conference USA title in 2006. Briles could also add some life to the Bears' anemic spread offense quicker than other candidates. U of H had encouraging success with a similar offense installed after Briles’ arrival.
Baylor’s always had a quick trigger with their head coaches and each time it hasn’t proved much success.
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10 months ago
Since Baylor has hired Art Briles, a successful, established Texas college head coach and did so after the first interview, it's entirely possible that Singletary was never a serious candidate for the job. Baylor probably hasn't budged from the desire in 2002 to have someone with head coaching experience. It would be unfortunate if Singletary implied that Baylor didn't have the desire to win after being brought in only as a courtesy, as either an alum, as a minority, or some combination of both.
10 months ago
Drink that Singletary Kool-aid!
10 months ago
Geez. Just click on the author's name and look at his picture. Enough said.
10 months ago
After looking at that Pic I know what you get when the Indian screwed the Buffalo.
10 months ago
Enough of this, nothing is going to come out of it but people bad mouthing Singletary and Briles. Someone doesn't understand what it means to be a part of the BU family.
10 months ago
Your an idiot! Baylor is 2nd in Big 12 championships since it became big 12. Just because they have had trouble with football doesn't mean they should get out of the big 12, they are a major competitor when you look at all sport in the big 12. As far as this guy that they hired he will do a better job at recruiting and putting together a team then Singletary. I love him, but he has never been a head coach, never done recruiting, doesn't have connections with Texas High School Football. o to sum your little "article", idiotic!
10 months ago
They aren't bad mouthing Singletary and Briles, they are bad mouthing the idiot that wrote this "article". I thought this was a place where fans write about sports, this idiot doesn t have a clue about sports or the ability to write about it. Just another CA moran.
8 months ago
do any of you even actually go to Baylor?
3 months ago
Let me tell you something. Baylor may not be the best in football, but neither is Vandy, and look at how well they do in other sports. Oh yeah, we've also got the best academic program in the Big 12.
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