Jeff Lebby

OU football offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby during the Sooners' spring open practice on March 21.

 Ray Bahner/OU Daily

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables appeared blindsided postgame Saturday when asked about former Baylor coach Art Briles being on OU's field and wearing Sooners gear.

"That's being dealt with," Venables said after OU's 28-11 win over SMU. "I've had no time to think about any of that."

Venables said he wasn't aware of Briles' presence until moments prior to his postgame press conference. OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione provided a statement on the incident:

“I was just as disappointed as many of our fans when I learned of the postgame situation tonight. It shouldn’t have happened and it was my expectation it never would, based on boundaries we previously set. I’ve addressed it with the appropriate staff.”

Sooners offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is married to Briles' daughter and commented on the situation postgame.

"He's my father-in-law," Lebby said. "That's the grandfather to my two kids so he was down with our entire family well after the game, but he was down there with the entire family."

Briles and Lebby's names were mentioned in a lawsuit against Baylor by a student in 2016 for failing to report one of their running backs who allegedly assaulted her, according to Title IX court documents provided to ESPN.

Briles was fired by Baylor in 2016.

Later, as Lebby remained on the Bears staff in 2016 after Art Briles had already been fired, Lebby defended his father-in-law by wearing T-shirts that read “#CAB,” or “Coach Art Briles,” despite being directly involved in one of college football’s biggest black eyes.

The OU Daily called a number listed for Art Briles, matching the age and previous residences in Texas late Saturday.

When asked if it was Briles who picked up, the person said, "You're calling this number, you should know."

When asked if he could comment on Briles' presence at OU's game, he said:

“My presence at the game, what I thought about the game?”

When asked again if the person on the phone was Briles, the person hung up. The OU Daily texted the number after the call and received no response. 

Art Briles on Jeff Lebby's Instagram

Sooners offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby's Instagram story of Art Briles and family on Sept. 9. 

Briles was also on the field pregame. Lebby posted a picture to his Instagram story of Briles and then made it his profile picture before moving his account to private.

Assistant sports editor Jason Batacao contributed to this story.

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