In Art Briles: Looking Up: My Journey from Tragedy to Triumph, Briles tells his story through sports writer Nick Eatman. (I'm not comfortable with the double subtitle. Too man colons.) This is not a book by Art Briles with Nick Eatman; Eatman wrote it based on interviews with Briles and others, as well as Briles's narratives, dictated on tape. Eatman does a great job of capturing Briles's voice while staying in the third person.
If you don't know Briles's story, or if you only know him as RG3's coach, take some time to learn about Briles. Even if you're not a Baylor fan, you will be inspired and encouraged by his story. The tragedy referred to in the (sub-)subtitle was during his college days. Briles played football for the University of Houston. When Houston had an away game in Dallas, his parents and aunt drove from their west Texas home in Rule to see him play. Unfortunately, they never made it. As Briles was coming off the field at the end of the game, his coach pulled him aside and gave him the bad news.
Briles's dad was also his football coach. His parents' example as coach, educator, Christians, and loving parents provided a guiding light for him, and continues to do so. He says a day doesn't go by in which he doesn't think about them, their legacy, and his desire to honor them in all aspects of his life. He took that tragedy and made it into triumph.
Knowing that he's seen life at its worst, going through that suffering, he has taken on challenges that others might shy away from. He went to Stephenville, a high school football program that hadn't been to the playoffs in years, and was constantly beaten down by the rivals in a nearby town. Not only did he beat the rivals and make the playoffs, he led them to 4 state championships. He went back to Houston as head coach, taking over a football program that was about to be eliminated from the school. There he took them to bowl games and coached future NFL players. When he came to Baylor, the Bears had been cellar dwellers in the Big 12. He took them to their first bowl game in ages, now 4 bowl games in a row, coached a Heisman trophy winner, has the Bears in the top ten in the country, and, until last weekend, in the conversation for the national championship game.
Anyone can appreciate the greatness of Briles's story. Coaches especially should pick up Looking Up. I enjoyed hearing about how Briles connects with and develops players. He's not an in-your-face screaming coach, he's a positive, encouraging coach, dedicated to helping his players be the best they can be. The connection with his family is impressive, as well. His son and son-in-law are coaches on his staff, and his daughter works for the Dallas Cowboys. By his accounting, they are very tight-knit. Fathers could probably learn much from his example, which is truly impressive if you realize how many time demands are put on coaches, even at the high school level.
Unless you're a real football fan, or at least a fan of Texas high school football, you might get a little bogged down in the game-by-game, play-by-play descriptions of his time coaching high school. There's plenty to like for the non-football fan and the non-Baylor fan, but those readers will enjoy Looking Up much more that other readers. For Baylor fans, because of Briles, we can keep on looking up. I have a feeling, as great as this season has been, the best is yet to come.
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