Art Briles is back in the game.

It ain’t the same as the game he coached while at Baylor University. It’s still the game, on the high school level.

To my way of thinking, this former college head football coach doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near the young men he is going to coach.

Briles got fired from Baylor in May 2016 because of a string of incidents involving players under his charge. They were charged with committing sexual assault on female students at the faith-based university in Waco, Texas. Briles became the face of the scandal.

He got the boot in 2016. Now he’s going to coach high schoolers at Mount Vernon High way over yonder in Deep East Texas.

I am filled with the question: What in the world is the Mount Vernon Independent School District thinking?

If I were king of the world I wouldn’t put this guy anywhere near these young men.

The coach is damaged goods, man! He got fired for cause at Baylor.

Sure, I get that winning matters. Briles already has coached high school teams in Texas successfully, winning state titles while at Stephenville High School. It’s clear to me that at Mount Vernon, winning must matter more than character.

An athletic coach’s responsibility as often as not goes far beyond just ensuring that his teams win more games than they lose. He becomes a sort of surrogate father, someone who should shepherd the young people he leads into leading good and productive lives.

Did the former Baylor coach succeed in that fulfilling that duty? Hardly. Has he learned his lesson? That remains to be seen.

However, I am still scratching my head wondering how in the world a public school district could put its faith in someone who failed so miserably in that important task.