Arkansas OC Kendal Briles offered same position at Miami

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported on Tuesday that Mario Cristobal offered Arkansas offensive coordinator Kendall Briles the same position at Miami.

The Razorback playcaller put together one of the top attacks in the country in 2021, and has a reputation for putting up points at multiple stops, including at FAU, Houston, and Florida State.

The 39-year old led a Razorbacks offense which averaged 441.7 yards per game and ranked No. 7 nationally in rushing offense with 227.8 yards per game.

That’s up from 391.5 total yards of offense per game the year before, which was up 50-yards per game from before Briles’ arrival. 

In 2021, Treylon Burks was one of the top wideouts in the SEC under Briles, totaling 66 catches for 1104 yards and 11 touchdowns. 

Before his time in Fayetteville, Briles was the sparkplug for a Florida State offense that ranked 103rd in total offense (361.2 YPG) and 113th in scoring (21.9 PPG) in 2018. In his only season in Tallahassee, he engineered an offense that improved greatly in both categories gaining 403.2 yards per game and scoring 29.1 points per game. Briles ignited an anemic Florida State rushing attack that ranked last in the FBS in 2019 to a 50-yard per game improvement in 2019. He also helped produce a pair of All-ACC talents in running back Cam Akers and wide receiver Tamorrian Terry.

In 2018, Briles called an offense led by D’Eriq King that was one of the best in the nation after scoring 40-points in ten games. King broke the AAC touchdown record after totaling 50 scores while averaging 27.5 points responsible for, which led the nation.

The unit as a whole finished in the top 10 in both total offense (512.5 YPG) and points per game (43.9PPG). The Cougars were one of just three teams to rank in the top 25 nationally in passing and rushing, averaging 295.5 yards through the air and 216.8 yards on the ground. 

While at FAU under Lane Kiffin in 2017, Briles, along with UM running backs coach Kevin Smith, helped the Owls to the sixth-best rushing attack in the country with 285.3 yards per game. The offense also averaged 40.6 points per game and totaled 498.4 yards per game, which ranked eighth and ninth nationally respectively. 

Briles would take over a UM offense that is led by quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who developed into one of the most productive passers in the country after King was ruled out for the year after four games.

The redshirt freshman averaged 293.1 yards per game through the air, which was 15th best in the country. The ACC Rookie of the Year also had six straight games with over 300 yards and at least three touchdowns to close the season, which is the most in ACC history.  He finished his first year as a starter with 25 touchdowns to just six interceptions.