Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby addresses Art Briles postgame situation

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby received some backlash over the weekend as his father-in-law and former Baylor head coach Art Briles was present on the field following the Sooners 28-11 win over SMU on Saturday.

Briles was terminated from Baylor in 2016 following a sexual assault scandal involving the football team, and hasn’t returned to collegiate coaching since. And regarding his presence on the field in Norman Saturday, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said it “shouldn’t have happened” based on “boundaries we previously set.”

On Monday Lebby spoke on the situation at a press conference, and according to SoonerScoop.com said that the situation would never happen again and that Briles did not have a university issued pass to be on the field.

“Just want everybody to understand my father-in-law, his presence on the field after the game the other night is something that created a distraction and I apologize for that,” Lebby said. “That was not the intent at all, the intent was just to celebrate with my family.”

“Do want to correct some reports that claimed he had a sideline pass, there was not a sideline pass given out,” Lebby added. “He was actually on the field only when other families were down there and were present. Joe Castiglione, Coach Venables both have addressed concerns with me, have talked to me about it and again can make sure that everybody understands that this is something that will not come up again.”

Lebby’s comments show a change of heart from his initial comments following the game, where he defended Briles’ presence saying, “He’s my father-in-law. That’s the grandfather to my two kids. He was down there with my entire family well after the game.”

Lebby also notably changed his profile picture on Instagram to one depicting himself, Briles, and his children on the field at Memorial Stadium.

More on Lebby and Briles

Along with being the son-in-law of Briles, Lebby was also a part of Baylor’s staff under Briles for the entirety of his tenure with the Bears from 2008 to 2016. And following the termination of Briles, Lebby publicly defended him and even played a role in the making and selling of #CAB (Coach Art Briles) shirts in support of Briles.

Following Briles’ firing, he was hired by the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats as assistant head coach for offense, which was faced with criticism and pressure that resulted in the organization later announcing Briles would not join the team.

He coached football professional football in Italy on two separate occasions and at the high school level for Mount Vernon High School in Texas, but has not returned to the collegiate level. He was hired as the Grambling State offensive coordinator in 2022 but resigned shortly after following another dose of public backlash.