Auburn football beat reporter calls out at TCU’s Kendal Briles OC announcement
Auburn football beat reporter Justin Lee, the deputy editor of the Opelika-Auburn News, called out the official Twitter account of TCU football for announcing the hiring of offensive coordinator Kendal Briles by including a photo of his family and not tagging Briles in the post.
I thought I had seen it all, but here's a school using children as a PR shield https://t.co/da23oac0iV
— Justin Lee (@ByJustinLee) January 20, 2023
Briles was most recently the offensive coordinator at Arkansas and oversaw the development of KJ Jefferson during his three-year tenure in Fayetteville. It was not his time with the Hogs — nor his stint under Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic — that is having TCU’s social media announce his hiring in this fashion, though.
Instead, it’s his highly controversial tenure at Baylor under his father Art Briles from 2008-2016. While in Waco, the coaching staff Briles was a part of largely ignored rape accusations levied towards his players.
Auburn football could be the next TCU in 2023
Auburn football, like TCU, has gone through it in recent months for controversial hires. Bringing on Hugh Freeze has subjected AU to plenty of inflammatory and highly inappropriate behavior in retaliation from local and national media outlets.
Hopefully the comparisons don’t stop there in 2023 though. After Sonny Dykes took the reigns in 2022 of a TCU team that went 5-7 the season prior, many Auburn football fans are hoping Freeze could lead the Tigers to be the next cellar-dweller to College Football Playoff story.
Freeze is certainly doing what he could to make the team competitive, adding starting-worthy talent along the offensive line and bringing on game-changing talent in the running back room (Brian Battie) and at tight end (Rivaldo Fairweather).
While Robby Ashford doesn’t quite have the cannon Max Duggan does, perhaps Philip Montgomery’s offense could tailor the offense to the ground game of the new and improved RB room and Ashford himself. The defense is losing major game-changers in Derick Hall and Colby Wooden, but the coaching staff has brought in three defensive linemen and two linebackers from the SEC and the Big Ten.
TCU has let the world know that good coaching is all that’s needed to go on a run when the talent is there. Perhaps the Tigers’ have enough to do the unthinkable in 2023.