Rice's Bailiff mixes winning, staying true to school

The road to David Bailiff's 50th victory as Rice's coach started with a rare Wednesday night game in October 2007 at Hattiesburg, Miss.

After opening the season with four consecutive losses, Rice upset Southern Mississippi 31-29 for Bailiff's first victory with the Owls, who forced seven turnovers.

"It was crazy," Bailiff said. "We got on the airplane and everyone was rowdy."

The coaches and players were celebrating, but, about five minutes into the trip, the plane became quiet and the overhead lights came on.

"The biochem books came out and all the players were studying," Bailiff said. "I'd never seen that before. None of the coaches had. We were like 'They're all studying!' That's part of us learning Rice."

Eight years and 49 wins later, a case could be made that Bailiff has transformed the Rice football program to a level of consistency not seen since the middle of the last century.

Under Bailiff, the Owls have earned bowl bids the past three seasons, the first three-year bowl run in school history. Rice is the second-winningest FBS program in Texas since 2013, behind only No. 5 Baylor, Saturday's opponent at Waco. Last week, he picked up his 50th win when the Owls defeated North Texas 38-24.

But spend just a few minutes with Bailiff and he will make the case it is Rice that has changed him.

"The thing I've learned to be successful here is these young men are so unique that I've had to adapt," he said.

Time of the essence

Bailiff has learned how to be efficient with his time and practices.

"Right now, we know it takes them nine minutes to walk from the locker room to the practice field," Bailiff said.

Time management is important considering the demands of Rice's rigorous class schedules and academic demands.

"Most places you get four hours," Bailiff said of practice time. "Today, we got three hours and 15 minutes. … You learn how to make every moment count."

A lot of what he has learned, though, he attributes to his age. His mentors, Mack Brown and Spike Dykes, told him that as head coach you put the game behind you when you walk off the field.

"You learn as you get older that guys need me that way," Bailiff said of his calm demeanor. "Because they're all looking at you. You need to be the steady person on the staff."

Bailiff, 57, is one of four Rice coaches to earn at least 50 victories with the Owls. Phil Arbuckle had 52 wins in 11 seasons, Ken Hatfield 56 in 12 season, and Jess Neely 144 in 27 seasons. Bailiff is 50-54 with the Owls after going 21-15 in three seasons at Texas State.

Baylor coach Art Briles, who has known Bailiff since they were high school players, spoke highly of Bailiff this week.

"The job that David Bailiff has done there over the last nine years is borderline phenomenal," Briles said.

Darrell Patterson has been with Bailiff through all nine seasons at Rice. As associate head coach, Patterson said he has laughed and cried with Bailiff.

"Coach Bailiff is not just a coach, he's a gentleman that becomes family," Patterson said. "He embraces his coaches and their families and the families of his players. He's a gentleman that treats you the way you want to be treated and the way you should be treated.

"There's no doubt about it, he knows what customer service is about. He makes progress. He doesn't just sit back and watch things happen."

Bailiff may cherish some wins more than others but not by much.

"At my age, and I mean this, what you really enjoy most after a win is the locker room and the players' faces," he said. "You just like to see your team's goals come true because you know how hard every team in America works."

Handing off game ball

On Saturday, he didn't celebrate win No. 50, though.

"As I told the team, I haven't made a tackle," Bailiff said. "I haven't scored a touchdown. It's not me, it's them."

So when they handed him the game ball, he handed it right back.