The University of Texas hired Louisville coach Charlie Strong on Jan. 5 to replace the outgoing Mack Brown. Strong was formally introduced as the 29th head coach at Texas the following day and is the first African-American coach in the program history. There is no doubt that Strong can lead the Longhorns back to national prominence and in line for another national championship. His 37-15 record in four seasons at Louisville including a victory in the 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl over Florida is more than enough proof that he is the man for the job.
The hiring of Strong by athletic director Steve Patterson has received mixed reactions among the Longhorn faithful. While some agree that Strong was a great hire to move the football program forward, others such as long-time booster Red McCombs say otherwise. The co-founder of Clear Channel Communications said in a radio interview Monday with 1250 ESPN in San Antonio that the hiring process was "a bit sideways" and the hiring of Strong by Texas was a "kick in the face." He later went on to say that Strong would make a great position coach, maybe even a coordinator. It is comments like these by McCombs and other boosters like him at Texas is the battle Charlie Strong will be up against as he takes over the football program.
There will be immense pressure on him to win early and often to prove the naysayers wrong. Strong and his staff will have the daunting task of recruiting in a state that is brimming over the top with four and five star talent with other in-state schools like Baylor and Texas A&M and out of state schools such as Oklahoma State and Missouri. Moreover, Strong is the best coach by Patterson's standards to resurrect a football program that has fallen out of the national limelight since reaching the 2009 BCS National Championship Game vs Alabama.
If Strong turned around a dormant and unknown football program in Louisville into 2013 Sugar Bowl Champs and a potential No. 1 pick in Teddy Bridgewater then he can do the same at Texas. McCombs and the other high-dollar boosters must give him a chance to succeed in Austin. However, let's hope that the marriage of Strong and the University of Texas doesn't end in the same manner as Mississippi State and Sylvester Croom.
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