Texas Longhorns

New Texas OC says he leaned heavily on Baylor's Briles during decision

Published Dec. 14, 2015 11:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

Texas coach Charlie Strong went to the Art Briles coaching tree to pluck his new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert.

Now Strong owes Briles a Christmas card, at the very least.

Gilbert, a graduate assistant on Briles' Houston team in 2005 who went on to coach a version of Briles' offensive philosophy at several Texas high schools and now into his brief -- and successful -- career as a college coordinator, says he leaned heavily on Briles during his decision-making process to join the Longhorns.

Initially, Gilbert turned down the position. But when Strong, Texas president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin traveled to Tulsa last weekend to make a final pitch, Gilbert, a native Texan, agreed to bring his fast, physical offense to Austin.

"There were several people very instrumental in this decision that I leaned on as mentors. The first guy is Art Briles,” Gilbert said when he met with reporters for the first time Monday. “That man is a high-character guy, and a guy I've leaned on numerous times through this process. We were in the middle of recruiting, he's in the middle of of recruiting, and I never called him one time where he didn't answer the phone. I leaned on him very heavily."

Gilbert will be joined at Texas by former Tulsa offensive line coach Matt Mattox. The two coaches have been together for three years at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green and Tulsa. Their connection will bring a much-needed cohesion to Texas' offensive staff.

Together, Gilbert and Mattox will largely be charged with saving Strong's job. Strong is 11-14 in his two seasons at Texas and the offense has been one of the worst in the Big 12 and the nation. In a conference where spread offenses rule and half of the 10-team league ranked in the top nine in the nation in scoring -- with Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma occupying the top three spots -- Texas needs a quick fix.

Gilbert, who will earn $850,000 a year, said he and Mattox understand the stakes.

"Without a doubt,” Gilbert said. “We’re excited about being here. Coach (Strong) said what he wants. He wants an up-tempo offense, a guy with Texas ties and being able to coach quarterbacks. That’s what I’ve got a background in."