Briles likely will survive, but the next guilty coach won't

Jan 1, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Art Briles against the Central Florida Knights during the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Art Briles likely will keep his job as the Baylor football coach, despite the Sam Ukwuachu scandal that in some ways trumps the Dave Bliss shame of a dozen years ago.

Bliss conspired to besmirch the name of a dead man, which is reprehensible. Briles brought a menace to campus, and an 18-year-old soccer player paid a horrific price, the victim of a sexual assault, and even if Briles did so unwittingly, he didn't seem to care after the discovery.

Bliss didn't survive, but Briles probably will. Too much euphoria over Baylor football's meteoric rise. Too many financial considerations. Too much he said/he said with Chris Petersen, far removed in the Pacific Northwest. Too many co-conspirators in Waco for Briles to be the fall guy.

But even so, Sam Ukwuachu changes the college football landscape. If Briles survives, he will have burned the bridge behind him.

Check out more from The Daily Oklahoman column, which calls Ukwuachu 'the Ray Rice of college football.'