A Strong Opinion

Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com

It was going to happen sooner or later.

For years, Charlie Strong was seen by many as one of the best coordinators in college football. With nearly 30 years of experience under his belt including stops at South Carolina, Florida and Notre Dame, Strong's efforts over the years made him a viable candidate for a head coaching position at Louisville.

The Cardinals, who were merely a blip on the college footbal radar before Strong's arrival were made into a program that recruits look at and played for more under his tenure arguably than any other time during the program's existence.

Well, this weekend provided quite the buzz in college football as reports surfaced and were later confirmed that Charlie Strong would replace Longhorns legend Mack Brown as the head coach for the boys in Austin. Strong did what any coach in their right mind would do. A marquee job came open and was offered to him. Thus, he took the job.

Well, now the plot has thickened. Red McCombs, a Texas billionaire who is also a booster for the Longhorns, recently voiced his opinion about Strong as the new head coach for Texas and, well, it was pretty much the textbook definition of a backhanded compliment.

Red McCombs - Photo Courtesy of MySanAntonio.com

Let's look at some of the things McCombs said.

"I don't have any doubt that Charlie is a fine coach. I think he'd make a great position coach...maybe a coordinator..."

Nobody told poor Red about Strong's resume. Most recently, Strong finished with a 37-15 record at Louisville winning seven or more games each year making the program bowl eligible. Before Strong and the likes of Bobby Petrino and John L. Smith, the Cardinals had seven seasons with seven or more wins. Smith had five seasons with seven or more wins with the Cardinals while Petrino had four. Strong had three.

"I don't believe what should be one of the three most powerful university programs in the world in UT-Austin, I don't think it adds up....I think it's a kick in the face. I'm a team player. I'll support him all I can.I just think they went about it wrong..."

While there have been charges of racism placed against McCombs (and I'm not going to completely disagree), I don't think McCombs has really gotten his head out of Bevo's butt to realize what Strong's body of work. Strong has two national titles as the defensive coordinator at Florida under Urban Meyer. He also coached in three BCS bowl games. During his tenure in Florida, Strong was considered one of the top defensive coordinators in the country. After arriving at Louisville, all Strong did was continue to have success. The Cardinals were second in the nation in sacks this year (43) while finishing as one of the top 25 teams in the country in the points per game category. Last year, the Cardinals were in the top 20 in passing yards. Give credit where credit is due. You're not going to sell very many recruits on playing in Conference USA, the American Athletic Conference or whatever that conference calls itself. By the way, Louisville has only won 10 or more games six times in their program's history and Strong can take credit for two of those six seasons.

Imagine what Strong could do with the right recruits at a big name program playing for a relevant conference. I don't think Strong goes 7-6 in the Big 12, but I don't expect the Longhorns to win a national title in his first two years either. Still, the program needed change and they're going to get that in Strong. The problem he's going to have is getting the cooperation of boosters in Austin.

Photo Courtesy of Bossip.com

If McCombs feels this way, how many other boosters (with less money) do you think agree with him? The minute that things head south with Texas, people are going to want him gone...and they'll be vocal about it. Why? It won't just be because Texas is a high-profile program. It could be because Charlie Strong is an African-American man in a powerful position. Red McCombs made it clear that Strong wasn't the guy he would have hired if he had his way. So, let's check the resumes of other possible candidates that could have gotten the job.

UCLA's Jim Mora was one that McCombs reportedly thought should have the job. Mora took the job with the Bruins in 2012 and has amassed an overall record of 19-8 so far. Aside from that, Mora has no college coaching experience to stand on. Sure, he was a NFL head coach for two different franchises, but what did he really accomplish with Atlanta and Seattle while he was there? Not enough to stay. Mora is just getting his feet planted on the college football landscape. Would you really want a guy like him coaching at Texas?

Jon Gruden - Photo Courtesy of Helmet2Helmet.com

Reports also surfaced that McCombs thought that Texas should hire Jon Gruden. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach has been off the sidelines since 2009. Instead of coaching, the man has had the time of his life analyzing ESPN Monday Night Football games while holding draft specials with potential draft picks showing their playing technique in settings that remind you a lot of Pro Day, only with what appear to be high school players. He actually likes what he does and I can't blame him for not wanting to take the Texas job or any coaching job at this stage for that matter.

What McCombs said was truly out of line. Strong has proven himself to be a talented head coach and, yet, this "booster" only sees his program's new coach as  "a great position coach...maybe a coordinator..." If he's a bad fit, give me more reasons than why you just think it's a bad selection. Then again, don't. You're a booster. It's not your place to select a coach. If it were, you wouldn't be a booster. You'd be the athletics director.