Report: Ex-Baylor football coach Art Briles lands job with Italian team

Scott Gleeson | USA TODAY

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Former Baylor football coach Art Briles has been hired to coach a professional football team in Italy, with the deal being finalized on Thursday. Briles told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that after three weeks of negotiations, he accepted a position to coach the Guelfi Firenze American Football team, whose season begins in March. The team is based in Florence, Italy.

Baylor fired Briles in May 2016, as members of his football team faced sexual assault allegations amid a rape scandal at the school.

Last year, he had accepted an assistant coaching job with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, but the team rescinded its offer after public backlash.

Details on Briles' contract, including salary, were not provided. But Briles told the Star-Telegram it was flexible enough to allow him to accept a coaching position in the United States, should he receive an offer.

“I’m a football coach, and it’s all I’ve ever done and all I’ve ever really had a passion to do; this gives me a chance to be on the field and between the lines,” Briles told the Star-Telegram. "... It’s a golden opportunity for me to get on the field and be involved. I’m jacked about it."

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