Texas Longhorns: Will Charlie Strong Leave for Florida?

The big news in college football over the weekend, while not incredibly surprising, was that the Florida Gators had fired their head coach and the Texas Longhorns former “coach-in-waiting,” Will Muschamp. While most fans expected that this would happen, a meltdown by the Gators on Saturday sped up the process. Of course, along with the news came the fear among the Longhorn Nation that Charlie Strong, who appears to be making great strides in the Texas program, might just up and leave the Lone Star State for the Sunshine State.

After all, throughout his coaching career, Strong has spent the majority of his time coaching at the University of Florida: first as a graduate assistant, later as a linebackers coach, and finally as the defensive coordinator. It was during his final stint as the Gators’ DC that Florida won their two most recent national championships, and this success led Strong to his first head coaching assignment at the University of Louisville.

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Because of Strong’s history with the Gators, he has developed strong ties to the state. As a result, he has had a great deal of success in snatching recruits out of Florida during his time with the Cardinals and in his short time with the Longhorns.

But are these ties enough to draw him back to Florida and the Gators?

Texas fans really shouldn’t be too worried for several reasons.

First and foremost, when asked whether he was interested in the soon-to-be-vacant Florida coaching position earlier today, Strong replied, “No. I have a great job. There’s still a lot of work to get done here (in Austin).” Sure, it could just be coach-speak; after all, how many times have coaches said they aren’t leaving only to head for the door the following week?

But with Strong, fans can believe it.

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For one thing, Strong isn’t even considered the top candidate for the UF job, and because Florida is considered one of the top coaching jobs in college football, there are very few candidates in front of him that would be likely to turn it down.

Additionally, like Florida, Texas is considered to be one of the top college jobs in the country. In fact, many will tell you that it’s the premier job in college football. Regardless, it would be hard to imagine that one would leave Texas for what is considered a lateral move to coach at Florida, especially one that just arrived at Texas.

Strong came to Texas with a huge rebuilding job ahead of him. Changing a culture isn’t easy, as Charlie has already learned. If possible, rebuilding Florida might even be more difficult. It is highly doubtful that Strong would be eager to jump in to another program in disarray so soon after laying the groundwork here in Austin.

Finally, I believe Strong when he says he wants to see things through here at Texas. From what Texas fans have learned of him, he doesn’t seem like the type that would up and quit on anything that he’s started. He appears to have too much pride and integrity to leave such a task undone.

The Longhorn program is finally at a point this season when things appear to be coming together, and for the first time in a while, the future looks very bright.  Strong has surrounded himself with a great coaching staff here in Austin, he and lots of talent (though it needs some developing) plus loads more coming in, and most importantly, the team appears to have bought into his methods.

It’s been a rough season for the Longhorns, no doubt. However, it all seems to be coming together, it’s clear to anyone that follows college football that this program is headed in the right direction.

There is no doubt that this is Charlie Strong’s program now, and Texas fans shouldn’t worry; he isn’t going anywhere.