Well he hasn't accepted yet. He's expected to, but it's not official. If he does give him a little time to get his system and players in place. As long as Red, JJ and the other buttheads keep their nose out of things, Strong has the opportunity to rebuild a good program.
I think when some settle down and actually look at what Strong and his staff have done they will actually be happy as hell. They have absolutely destroyed pretty much anyone with a semblence of a passing game. Not to mention his DC is a former Texas player who has kicked *** by his side at Florida and Louisville. Strong was the DC at Florida during Urban Meyer's run. They completely shut down what were considered unstoppable offenses in tOSU and OU. They are considered defensive gurus in the college world. The big concern for most is they are not offensive gurus, but they did recruit and develop the offensive team that they have including Bridgewater. They took a mid pack team and took them to 2 or 3 losses in the last two years including kicking Florida's butt in a BCS bowl and then Miami's this year. If nothing else is to be said, his players for damn sure played much harder than UT's and seemed to exhibit much more football skill. While some have shown concern with who he is going to pick as his coordinator, keep in mind he's not afraid to fire them and he seems to really be connected in the coaching world. Not to mention Strong and Bedford have huge chips on their shoulders from being passed up from big gigs. If you look at both's resumes, they should probably be the current Florida staff and almost left for Tennessee a couple of years ago. If you don't think this is a great hire and the right guy, I don't know what to tell you.
I'm not sure how high of a recruit Bridgewater was, but Swoopes started out as a 5 star and went to a 4 star I believe. But if Strong and his OC can develop Swoopes and Heard to somewhat close to Bridgewater then we are good to go. I was never sold on Franklin. SEC is overrated and he was in the weakest division of the SEC.
I'm somewhat concerned about the choice, but then I am also dubious about Patterson being selected over Luck. Time will tell.
rickysrun FYI My opinion was based on a larger sample size, since I have lived in Nashville the last 2 1/2 years, I think I would know more about what Franklin has accomplished on and off the field than someone who can only call names when he has nothing educated to say! If you could pull your head out long enough, you would realize that Franklin has accomplished this with a much more competitive schedule and recruiting environment. Compare schedules, that is if you can read and you will see a very distinctive difference in the level of competition. Let me translate that down for you...( the teams they played were better) LOL!
Let me ask this question. Once it appeared certain that the flashy names were not interested, Should we have made the decision to go to an up and coming coordinator? Like ou did with Stoops?
I’m happy to get behind this guy and start the Charlie Strong era, assuming the deal closes. I think he will bring a much needed culture change, toughen this program up and hold everyone accountable for their performance. I trust that Patterson has taken this very seriously and knows what he is doing. His legacy is at stake as well.
I do. I was hoping Patterson would at least interview Andersen @ Wisconsin. I think he's the next big HC. Here's why I like Strong: - supposedly a great recruiter - old school hard case coach - defense Here's why I'm not sold on him: - record at Louisville is deceptive. It's the richest school in its conference and had 2 coaches, John L Smith and Petrino, that had a lot of success there, upped their stock, got a better job elsewhere, and tanked. Smith and Petrino went 41-21 and 41-9, respectively, with 2 conf. championships each. Strong is 37-15 with a piece of 2 championships (got the tiebreaker last year). In short, Louisville has intrinsic advantages that don't accurately reflect the ability of a coach. - offense? - he has lost at least one game he was favored in every year as HC. - can he handle Big 12 offenses? - he slandered Florida in public when they jilted him and hired Muschamp. Not cool. All that said, I'll get on board. But no one will convince me that we couldn't have done better.
f**k it. A lot of you people would be pissed no matter who they brought in if he's not "your" guy. I was really hoping that the next coach pick would bring fans together, considering all the moaning and groaning that's gone on for the last couple years, but it looks like Charlie Strong is going to be analyzed and his every move picked at until he can at least win you a NC. If I'm him, I might have second thoughts about coming to Texas after reading so much of this crap from the fan base before I've even signed on.
Did we just settle for Strong You bet we did ! Tier 2 , no skins on the wall, and we will be "rebuilding" for years. This is a POS hire, and we could have done a lot better than this.
I do feel like we settled. This was the one guy i did not want. I'm warming up to it. After looking more closely at his resume. This guy is a Black Muschamp. SUPER SUCCESSFUL as a DC. Took an 0-11 South Carolina and they went 7-4 and 8-3 next two years. Largely because the defense was top 20 caliber. What other coach available has two MNC rings? He tremendously helped Florida with its titles. And Strong immediately turned around Louisville's defense. They went from a team 65th in overall D to 14th d in one year, VERY impressive. And oh yeah... he has two conference championships in 4 years as a hc. The latter though, just isn't impressive to me. Half of the big XII would've been 11-1 with that schedule. Franklin and Vandy surely would have, too. As well as half the SEC. That schedule was pitiful. His D is stout. NO DOUBT. But did any of you see Louisville play this year? I saw them play UH. Houston was up 13-10 at the half. Louisville had 10 possessions. 6 punts, 2 fg, and 2 TD. It was just pathetic offensive football. AND EVEN WITH Heisman candidate Bridgewater. His QBR was 45. Now THAT is Case Mccoy-esque. I also saw Louisville play Cincy. Again... NOT IMPRESSED. Took them overtime and their O was just paltry. If not for the timely plays by Bridgewater and their stout D... wouldn't have been close. I'm telling you guys... THIS Louisville team would've been 7-5 or 6-6 in the BIg XII. ON the par of Tech or Texas. Just doesn't feel like an upgrade to me. For me, this will all depend on the OC. If we get a pro-style one.... SSDD. If we get a spread type up and comer like Morris... This will be a great hire. Dude can coach D and recruit well. I just think Franklin would've been a better fit.
My memory may be bad but this reminds me a lot of the Mack Brown hire. That worked out all right. I will let things play out and give him a chance. Texas fans are hard to please tho, myself included
Nothing personal, but what a bunch of cry babies, two month ago it was anybody but Mack now your crying about one of the best up and coming coaches available. I think it was a great hire for a team that everyone called soft, he coaches tough football and that is the number one character point I was hoping for. I'm all in if they bring Strong to Austin.
This is not being a crybaby. Jackass. Nothing personal either. But the powers that be set this up to feel like a disappointment or a settle. We were told early on to expect a big splash hire. Sa an was the lot target for awhile. Then it was one of the harbaughs or fisher or Malzahn. Those would be splashes. Those hires are in the mnc or just recently coached in a Super Bowl This is a nice solid hire. But if does feel like a settling or letdown given the hype of all the big names thrown out there
Strong was a good hire. I'm eager to watch. But, the fan base demands 10 win seasons, which is what MB delivered except for the last 4 seasons, then run off. Strong will have to deliver greatness, because the era of long serving coaches at UT Austin is over.
There was lots of hype and speculation by anyone who wanted to be heard. Guess you need to consider the source.
I guess we should have run Brown off after his first three seasons then because he didn't win 10 games in any of those either.
When the first list of names came out..... You know... the briles/franklin/strong types.... The Chip Brown's, Jesus Shuttlesworth, Bobby Burton, Ketchum's of the world all said... look for UT to go BIG with this hire. Strong to me was always the floor. The guy you know you can get if you can't get the ones you really want. Hey, We're Texas. Its awfully nice when the fallback guy has won two MNC's and has won two straight conference titles. I guess my (personal) disappointment is that I really wanted an offensive minded HC. Malzahn or Fisher or Briles would've been great. I'm just not a huge fan of winning games by 21-17 where the whole game is a grind. And guess what Louisville likes to do?? Kentucky - won 27-13 Over Cincy - won 31-24 in OT Over UH - won 20-13 Over Memphis - won 24-17. Don't get me wrong... I"ll take the W's... But I was wanting more O as well. That's why who the OC will be is so crucial. If he takes the OC he currently has with them.... This will NOT be a good hire..
It's funny how we like to attack each other on this Board. Crybabies? Have you ever taken a look at the Bama or TAM or the Ohio State Boards? Fans are fans, and fans have expectations. And they should. At least most of our fans are...civil. For those who say that our program and the value of our job is not what it had been hyped up to be, I disagree. The massive and unprecedented coverage our HC opening got from every media outlet in the country should tell you all that you need to know. Texas is THE premier job, and arguably the best in the country. And if the position was not so highly coveted, then how the heck was almost every rumored candidate able to negotiate a raise and a contract extension once their name got out there? And let me add that if any of our prospects were intimidated by the media circus or the big cigars or the expectations or whatever, then clearly those individuals were truly not qualified for the job. The best jobs come with the highest expectations. Texas is "all that."
I LOVE the hire!!! While I'm grateful for the accomplishments during the MB years (#1 a National Championship), I hated that our teams always seemed SOFT. I really believe Strong will bring back the TOUGHNESS to UT football. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
SBC - WTF are u talking about? Petrino tanked? What? He went to a crap Arkansas program and went 5-7; 8-5; 10-3 and 11-2. This is tanking? Are you high? Jeeesus! This thread is proof that we have some of the dumbest ******* fans on the planet. EVERYONE in the know (HELL EVEN VEGAS KNEW) that our prime target was Strong. He was the top prospect identified by the "Agency" given our criteria. It has been Strong all along. Some of you ******* need to stop dishing out 9.95 to dipshits that tell you what to think and use your own cranium. If you did not want Strong or are "not sold" on him then you are ******* retarded and/or ignorant. Just STFU and go reread Nora Roberts.
It certainly appears we were turned down by other candidates before we settled on Charlie Strong. The only thing that concerns me is Strong's record as head coach at Louisville (37-15). All of those wins were in the Big East and American Athletic conferences (both far from being football power conferences). However--to his credit--he's a great defensive coach and he did lead Louisville to four bowl appearances, including wins over Florida (upset) and Miami. Obviously, since we need defensive help, I'm hopeful Strong will be able to prove he was a great hire.