Arkansas offensive coordinator and quarterback Kendal Briles has taken on the same role with TCU, the Horned Frogs announced Thursday. Briles returns to the Big 12 imprint for the first time since 2016 after a three-year stint with the Razorbacks. He arrives in the wake of Garrett Riley leaving his position as offensive coordinator to join the staff of Dabo Swinney at Clemson. Riley’s lease with the Tigers was made official last Friday, and with the 2023 recruiting round ending early next month, TCU moved quickly to identify and lock in his replacement.
Briles coached under his father, Art, at Baylor from 2008 to 2016, where the Bears committed some of the most prolific offenses in the nation using elements of the Air Raid system. His time at Baylor ended with his father’s firing amid a sexual assault scandal, and he made quick stops at FAU (2017), Houston (2018) and Florida State (2019) before moving on. being hired by Sam Pittman as the offensive coordinator for Arkansas in 2020.
Arkansas’ offense has improved every year with Briles at the helm, and his air raid experience makes him a stylistic match with TCU coach Sonny Dykes. His return to the Big 12 and Texas State also opens up familiar recruiting territory as the Horned Frogs look to restock their roster and prepare for another college football playoff run.
For Arkansas, the departure of Briles comes as another coaching staff tread for Sam Pittman ahead of his fourth year at the helm of the program. Defensive coordinator Barry Odom left to become UNLV’s head coach, and he took linebackers coach Michael Sherer with him to lead the Rebels’ defensive staff. Additionally, tight ends coach Dowell Loggains was hired by South Carolina and cornerbacks coach Dominque Bowman quit before eventually being hired for the same position at Temple.
Dan Enos, Arkansas’ new offensive coordinator, will have built-in benefits through the quarterback job: Star quarterback KJ Jefferson has announced plans to return for 2023 with star running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders .
