Jeff Lebby addresses Baylor's decision to honor Art Briles teams despite controversy

Baylor is planning to honor its 2013 and 2014 Big 12 championship teams this weekend, during a game against TCU. Former Baylor assistant and current Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby will have his hands full with a game of his own this weekend, but he reflected on what those teams meant to him.

They were not without controversy, but Lebby opted to focus on the positives.

“I think when I personally look back I think about all the good that was able to be accomplished,” Jeff Lebby said Wednesday on an SEC teleconference call. “I think about the amount of family and friends that were able to do so much in our time there and from the standpoint of being able to work for and with the people that are incredibly close to me and will continue to draw from that experience.”

Though Baylor went 11-2 in each of those two seasons, posting some of the best results in school history, that period in the program was marred by scandal.

In 2015, former football players Tevin Elliot and Sam Ukwuachu were convicted on sexual assault charges dating from their time at Baylor.

The program itself would later hire an independent law firm to review how the program handled the sexual violence incidents. The aftermath of those findings saw then coach Art Briles fired for “failure to act,” while university president Ken Starr resigned from his post.

Ever since there has been a stigma that has followed Briles and some of his assistants.

Jeff Lebby took heat last year when Briles was spotted at an Oklahoma game on the sideline.

“That’s my father-in-law. He’s my father-in-law,” Lebby said. “That’s the grandfather to my two kids. So he was down with our entire family after the game, well after the game. He was down there with the entire family.”

After the photo surfaced of Briles on the field, fans voiced their displeasure, taking to social media to voice their frustration. According to coach Brent Venables, he was unaware Briles was on the field.

“I was made aware just before I came in here that he was and I think that’s being dealt with, and already has been,” Venables said during his postgame press conference.

Jeff Lebby left Baylor after 2016, moving on to Southeastern as an offensive coordinator. From there he would head to UCF for two years, followed by a two-year stint at Ole Miss, then a two-year stint at Oklahoma.

He was named the Mississippi State head coach prior to the 2024 season.