Report: Charlie Strong to Accept Job as Head Coach
If these reports are correct, and Strong accepts the position, Mack Brown’s successor will be a man who turned Louisville’s struggling program into a national powerhouse.
In four seasons at Louisville, Strong went 37-15, including a 33-23 upset victory over Florida in the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and a blow-out win over Miami last week.
Before his tenure at Louisville, Strong was the defensive coordinator for two national title teams at Florida. Strong spent seven seasons as DC for the Gators before going to Louisville. When he accepted the head coaching position at Louisville, former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy said of Strong, "When they see what he can do, you're probably going to have a lot of people disappointed they didn't hire him sooner."
It’s been a peculiar few days in the land of burnt orange as new athletic director Steve Patterson searched for a new coach to fill the vacancy left by Brown. Patterson said he hoped to have a new head coach by January 15, when the recruiting dead period officially ends.
Just as reports surfaced Friday morning stating that conversations between UCLA head coach Jim Mora and UT had gotten serious, it was announced a few hours later that Mora would not accept the head coaching position at Texas. These reports came soon after Art Briles, head coach at Baylor, stated he would be staying at Baylor.
As potential coaching candidates were seemingly eliminated by the hour, a report surfaced late Friday night asserting that Strong would accept the head coaching position at Texas.
Strong is poised to fill the big shoes left by his predecessor, Brown, who coached 16 years at Texas and leaves behind one of the greatest legacies the University of Texas has ever seen. The Longhorns finished in the top 25 of the AP poll 14 times under Brown and won three BCS bowl games, including one national title.
Strong will become the 29th head football coach at Texas, and only the seventh in the last 50 years.
