Who feels we just settled for Strong.

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by I35, Jan 4, 2014.

  1. Texas85

    Texas85 25+ Posts

    As a supporter of Briles & Malzahn, I think this is a great hire. Strong is the opposite of Brown. He holds players accountable and coaches them up.

    I caught an ESPN analyst of this hire and made me a believer. They said he drags all his players through the mud and see who survives. Those who survives and thrives are his leaders. Kind of like the movie Hosiers. That sounds like what we need around here.

    Plus, Dodds with his proven horrible record of hires, did not have any say on this hire. That alone gives me hope.

    Welcome Charlie Strong! Good luck with this fickle fanbase.
     
  2. guy noir

    guy noir 100+ Posts

    Dodds horrible record of hires?

    Really?

    Which ones?

    And why?
     
  3. Texas85

    Texas85 25+ Posts

    McWilliams, Mackovic and Wetlich.
     
  4. NBHorn7

    NBHorn7 Pimp Daddy

    Kaiser Bob in basketball and I think that needs no explanation.
     
  5. guy noir

    guy noir 100+ Posts

    Brown, Barnes, Garrido, Center, Fields.
     
  6. Pericles

    Pericles 1,000+ Posts

    With the insanity that the Texas billionaires injected into Mack's firing and the media circus that Chip Brown added, could any person with an IQ higher than 60 be surprised that many of the best coaching candidates took themselves out of the running?

    If Strong can hire an good OC, handle the media/donor pressures, and recruit in Texas without the Hurtt cheating bennies, he'll be fine. If he can't, well then a lot of the ones who wanted Mack gone will be suffering a bunch of buyer's remorse three years from now.

    I love it that Powers and Patterson constructed a head coach search by totally ignoring McCombs and the other ******* billionaires whose stupid ego-driven personalities make them think they deserve to select a new head football coach at the University of Texas. I'll trust an AD who has done that for 25+ years anytime over those car dealer types.
     
  7. Pericles

    Pericles 1,000+ Posts


     
  8. Texas Taps

    Texas Taps 5,000+ Posts


     
  9. IvanDiabloHorn

    IvanDiabloHorn 1,000+ Posts

    We settled. But give the man a chance to see what he can do. The only red flag is that he had Hurtt on his staff knowing the coach was a cheater. The good feeling I have is remembering the win over Florida in the BCS game. I watched the entire game and kept thinking how Louisville was going to fold after getting hit in the mouth by the Florida defense, but never did. I like the toughness Louisville displayed. We could have done worse and we could have done better. Meh.
     
  10. Hook 'Em Danno

    Hook 'Em Danno 1,000+ Posts


     
  11. bystander

    bystander 10,000+ Posts

    Vs Saban - We settled but we're hearing that Powers was against him and the "feelers" were done by rogue elements in power who in the end were ignored. I don't think Powers wanted to be a tool for those guys.

    Vs Harbaugh - We settled but he's a coach in the NFL with a great team in a great city. I don't know how realistic it was to think he would drop all that for UT. He's been in California a long time now and maybe he's just a West Coast guy.

    Vs Briles - We chose to go another way. I don't see it as settling. I don't blame Briles for saying the scoreboard is his interview. It may be that he was a tad unrealistic to not give Patterson at least an opportunity to see if they could even communicate properly.

    Vs Shaw - I don't know if we settled or not. Maybe...

    Vs Fisher/Maltzahan - Maybe; they are in the national championship game at great football schools. They are in a very good situation professionally and are making good money. Why leave? We would have been forced to wait and probably bid the kind of money that possibly should have only gone to a Saban or a Harbaugh. I'm not so sure Powers/Patterson were in the mood to go to $7 million plus regardless of who they hired.

    In the end I believe the fragmented nature of our boosters caused the perception that we "settled." So what? Strong will be a very good coach. To me the only issues is this: the coordinators. I think that among other things bit Mack in the butt because he had no scheme or on field impact to offer. He was completely dependent on the coordinators. I hope Strong is much more involved. He'll need to be with the step up in class.
     
  12. jayakris

    jayakris 2,500+ Posts

    [Edit: I was typing this as bystander also gave the "fragmented opinion" thought above. We think alike!]

    I think there were enough different opinions among the bigwigs that basically it all had some neutralizing effect. May be McCombs' Gruden crack actually helped - as that was an additional way to dissipate the Saban chant and the Harbaugh talk.

    Then, when nobody expected it, Patterson hit them with a left-hook and said it was Strong. Most of even the bigwigs wouldn't have known what to say or how to oppose it, as no other candidate was overwhelmingly perceived as a favorite or a possibility either, with the the hypothetical (almost like trial-balloon) candidates Harbaugh, Saban and Gruden having neutralized each other. The only remaining one, Jimbo, was going to take way too long to move on, as an excuse.

    Meanwhile Briles had already screwed it up himself by acting high and mighty about interviewing (I thank him eternally for that), and Mora decided this was too much mess to walk into, perhaps even getting a feeling that he might not be the only one in the fray. Interestingly, I suspect that Mora would have been an easier target for an opposition to coalesce on, than Charlie Strong, for various reasons. So everybody went quiet, and Patterson got his way, with Powers' support. Smart as hell, if that is how it went.

    Just a plausible scenario that came to mind. I certainly don't have a friend whose girlfriend's mother is the real estate agent of somebody at Belmont.
     
  13. notanative

    notanative 1,000+ Posts


     
  14. bystander

    bystander 10,000+ Posts

    What I want to see besides W's is a team that is a handful for whoever it is we are playing. I want to see consistent competitiveness and not the hiccups of blowouts that we endured. We want the other team swallow hard when they see us run out on the field because they think, "Here comes Texas and they play very physical."

    The other thing though is this: toughness is not a scheme. That is why I rolled my eyes when Applewhite said, "Playing hard is our identity" or whatever he said. If the other team has a scheme that is fooling us then toughness is mooted. We have to have the ability to understand what the hell is going on in front of us before we hit somebody.
     
  15. MojoMan

    MojoMan 1,000+ Posts

    It seems to me that Charlie Strong is probably a short term stop-gap in this role. I wish him every success and I hope he wins national championships every year he is the head coach at Texas. Obviously, if he does that, he is not going anywhere.

    However, the competition is fierce for recruiting. And like it or not, the PR element is hugely important at this school. I expect he will do as well as Mack did in recent years. And then in a few years, after Steve Patterson has had a chance to develop his network sufficiently, Strong will be replaced with a longer term solution.
     
  16. Mesohorny

    Mesohorny 1,000+ Posts

    The final word on "settling" for Charlie Strong from Longhorn Coach Charlie Strong at his presser when asked:

    "Well, I could have been the 15th choice, and I'm so happy to be the head football coach here, so I...{audience laughter}... 20...15...it doesn't matter. Whatever choice I was, I'm the head football coach, so {smiling} I don't know where I sit or where I was, but I am."

    Word.
     
  17. jayakris

    jayakris 2,500+ Posts

    ^^^ Yep. And it came out with no reluctance. He genuinely meant what he said. You gotta love the guy for candor.
     
  18. DigglerontheHoof

    DigglerontheHoof 1,000+ Posts

    I think you're all f'ed in the head. Strong is going to kill it at Texas. We will finally have a tough football team. No more juice boxes and orange slices.

    Get ready to be elite again.
     
  19. PropositionJoe

    PropositionJoe 2,500+ Posts

    piling on here but the search didnt fail nor did you settle. you got one of the best available candidates out there.

    the failure was on the part of many longhorn fans to have realistic expectations about who their coach would be. so sure strong feels like a "settling" hire compared to jim harbaugh. but anyone who legitimately thought that jim harbaugh would leave the san fran 49ers to be the coach of the longhorns is a moron.

    strong was a good choice. his OC hire will make or break him.
     
  20. utempire

    utempire 1,000+ Posts

    There was no settling, Strong is one of the best out there and his age is about perfect too. enough youth vs experience. There is no doubt that even before Mack and right now; UT is one of the top 5 jobs.
     
  21. lancelotlink

    lancelotlink 25+ Posts

    Damn, we were luck to get Strong. He was my first choice.
    My daughter teaches at Florida and they really were distressed that Florida chose Muschamp over Strong. We are set for 15-20 years and the Strong years will be some of our best.
     
  22. OrangeChipper

    OrangeChipper 1,000+ Posts

    Rod Babers said it well... and encapsulated my concern.

    Our biggest deficiency over the last 4 years has been the inability to develop offensive talent and QB play.

    The Big XII is a QB driven league. When we had an elite QB... all else seemed to fall in place given our talent base. When we missed on a QB.... Re: Gilbert... we went from 12-1 to 5-7.

    So again.... not saying this is a bad hire.... but can't overemphasize enough the need for a good OC and someone who can develop QB play.
     
  23. havoc7701

    havoc7701 Sponsor and Aggy Ridiculer

    I encourage everyone to watch the video link or read the transcript from guywall's post at 01/04/14 11:08 PM. I'm very impressed and excited about this hire and his family background. That will help him weather the tempest under a magnifying glass which is the Texas HC job during times of adversity. I also can relate to him being a father of 2 girls, three years apart. Wonderful family and a fantastic fit for The University of Texas. [​IMG]
     
  24. OldHippie

    OldHippie 2,500+ Posts

    I just saw Charlie Strong on LHN's Longhorn Extra with Lowell Galindo. He was very relaxed talking football and the process of becoming the head football coach at UT.

    The last question Galindo asked him was what was it he liked most about being the head coach at UT and Coach Strong said, "The media." They had a big laugh at that. I think he will do fine with that aspect of the job.
     
  25. DINO22

    DINO22 1,000+ Posts

    Glad we got him.
    Hookem'
     
  26. XOVER

    XOVER 500+ Posts

    I don't like close games. I like it when Texas wins by 30+, to be brutally honest.

    Having said that, I'll take a 3-2 victory anytime Texas wants to give us one. I'll take them over and over again.

    It would also be therapeutic: We could groan and complain about how we managed to give up a safety.
     
  27. Texas Taps

    Texas Taps 5,000+ Posts

    I'll just settle for winning all the games.
     
  28. Mr. Fiesta

    Mr. Fiesta 1,000+ Posts

    This thread deserves this...[​IMG]
     

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