Baylor Head Coach Art Briles Discusses Texas Football Coaching Rumors

After current Baylor coach Art Briles was linked to the Texas football head coaching job, per Kirk Bohls and Brian Davis of The Austin American-Statesman (subscription required), the Bears coach discussed the Horns job while in Arizona preparing for the 2014 Tostito's Fiesta Bowl.

On Dec. 29, Craig Smoak of ESPN Central Texas asked Briles about The Statesman's report that he would take Texas job if offered. Smoak reported his findings on Twitter, which can be found via Storify.

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Anybody can say anything, you know. I learned a long time ago, I think it was believe none of what you hear and half of what you read. And I know that our total focus is on beating UCF and that's the way it's going to be. I mean if I did anything that was not on that would be detrimental to our football team and our university and I'm never going to do that. I'm privileged and honored to be the head coach at Baylor University, I can promise you that.

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Davis addressed the Briles quote via Twitter.

Certainly, Briles is focused on the upcoming matchup with Central Florida, but he did not deny any interest or want in the Texas job. A definitive statement would have been nice for the sanity of both the Baylor and the Texas faithful.

Briles has taken Baylor from the bottom of the Big 12 to the top with a 2013 conference championship and the school's first-ever BCS berth. He's gotten many top recruits, including Heisman winner Robert Griffin III and Rivals.com 5-star recruit Lache Seastrunk, to come to Waco. What kind of damage could he do in Austin if he took over Mack Brown's former job?

The Longhorns take on the Oregon Ducks in the 2013 Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 30. The Bears play their bowl game on Jan. 1, 2014. Possibly, rumors will be flying over the next weeks, but a decision on the Texas job should be made soon.