Art Briles hired by Italian team

Former Baylor head coach Art Briles, who lost his job in the aftermath of the sexual assault scandal that rocked the program, was hired Thursday by the Guelfi Firenze American football team in Florence, Italy.

"I believe that Coach Briles arriving to the Estra Guelfi Firenze will bring great benefits not only to our team, but also to the whole movement of American football in Italy," team president Alessandro Dallai said in a statement. "We can't wait to welcome our new head coach at our Guelfi Sport Center, I am sure it will be an amazing experience."

Briles, who was deemed untouchable by North American teams because of his supposed mishandling of sexual crimes reported against Baylor players, hasn't coached in two years. He was expected to join the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats as an assistant last year, but the club faced a severe backlash from fans and media, and the league quickly blocked his hiring.

Since his dismissal from the Bears, Briles has been adamant that Baylor used him as a scapegoat.

"I would have done more if I had known more," Briles told Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram ahead of the Guelfi Firenze announcement. "When these allegations came out, we found out at the same time you did. I had a meeting with the (Baylor) Board of Regents where I made suggestions that I never had the chance to fulfill. It would have been similar in the NFL that handles the discipline problems that took it out of the football coaches' hands."

The offensive mastermind led Baylor to a 65-37 record over eight campaigns. He won at least 10 games in four of his final five seasons.