Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby Offers Apology For Sideline Incident Involving Art Briles

Jeff Lebby, offensive coordinator for the University of Oklahoma's football team, offered an apology after Art Briles was invited onto Owen Field following the Sooners' win over Southern Methodist on Saturday.

Briles, former Baylor head football coach and Lebby's father-in-law, was spotted alongside Lebby on the team's sideline.

In a press conference on Monday, Lebby said he apologized for how his actions impacted the team and university.

"Just want everybody to understand, my father-in-law, his presence on the field... created a distraction," Lebby said. "I do apologize for that. That was not the intent at all. Intent was just to celebrate with my family."

Briles was Baylor's coach during a scandal a decade ago in which it was found that he had failed to hold players to account or even investigate dozens of sexual assaults. He was dismissed from the university in 2016, in disgrace.

Lebby was also a coach at Baylor during that period and was named in reports at that time as one of the coaches who allegedly failed to act when told about an assault.

After the game, reporter Guerin Emig, with Sellout-Crowd.com, asked about Briles' appearance on the field. Venables had only learned of it after the fact, and then soon after, so did University of Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione. Joe C issued a statement.

Lebby was asked about it, too. He defended Briles' presence on the field, saying that the former Baylor coach is "the grandfather of my two kids."

The only problem here is that the university had reportedly set boundaries with Lebby regarding his father-in-law. The specifics of those boundaries aren't known, but one would have to imagine that being on Owen Field in branded gear crossed that line.

On Monday, Lebby denied reports of Briles being offered a sideline pass, and said Briles only walked onto the field following the game's conclusion.

Lebby said he, along with OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione and head coach Brent Venables, had discussed the matter.

"Joe Castiglione, Coach Venables both have addressed concerns with me, have talked with me about it," Lebby said. "Everybody understands that this is something that can not come up again."

When asked about whether he was surprised by the amount of news coverage following the incident, Lebby said he refused to comment.

Afterwards, Lebby responded to questions about the team's performance and how they expect to improve.