Jay Hopson’s attempt to hire disgraced former coach Art Briles may backfire in more ways than one.

Not only did Southern Miss not allow him to hire Briles, who hasn’t coached since he was fired in the wake of Baylor’s rash of sexual assault cases under his watch, as his offensive coordinator, it put the head coach in the spotlight, bringing his own character into question.

When the university decided hiring Briles was not worth the public relations hit, Hopson released his own statement.

“I have interviewed Art Briles for an assistant position at Southern Miss and I believe he is a man who deserves a second chance,” Hopson said. “He is a man that seemed sincere and humble in his interview and personally he committed no crime. He may not have acted in the proper protocol, but that would be my JOB at Southern Miss! He was interviewing for an assistant position, even though I believe he will be a head coach at a major program in the near future.

“However, I believe he is a man who does love the Lord and deserves a second chance. He has been banned from employment in college football for three years and has been punished. I understand both sides have opinions, this is just mine.”

Giving second chances are a theme for Hopson, according to The Athletic.

Hopson and his staff attempted to bring in a junior college player with a checkered past without getting approval from the school, the site reported. Last month, Hopson tried to add Charles West, a prospect who had been accused of raping two women at knifepoint at his home in separate incidents in 2015. Because the women were unable to testify, the charges were lessened to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. West plead guilty.

A Junior College All-American, he was on campus in January after signing a National Letter of Intent. But his application was denied by the school’s admissions office after the story was found by someone in the athletic department.

Hopson’s previous stop was at Alcorn State, where he coached Jamil Cooks and Jaborian McKenzie. Cooks was previously kicked out of the Air Force Academy after being convicted of abusive sexual contact.

McKenzie pleaded guilty to a charge of facilitation of aggravated rape. He was standing next to Vanderbilt teammates when they raped an unconscious woman. McKenzie played at Alcorn State while facing those rape charges. There was no evidence he touched the woman and he testified against his three teammates, who were all convicted.

Hopson, meanwhile, was given a four-year extension by Southern Miss after going 15-11 in his first two seasons.