Charlie Strong Would be Crazy to Leave Texas for Florida
Charlie Strong is smarter than that.
Rumors that Strong is a target for the Florida Gators head coaching job are plain silly. He isn’t going anywhere. He’d be stupid to pack up and leave for the Sunshine State.
Strong is the coach of the state’s flagship university. This is the school that kids dream about playing for as they grow up. Not Baylor, not TCU, not even Texas A&M.
Mack Brown made it cool to wear the burnt orange in the early-to-mid 2000’s. The last few years saw the luster wear off of the Brown bandwagon. Now Strong has come in to pick up the pieces and put the program back on the pedestal it once sat – the school to go to in Texas.
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Plus, why would he go? He just got here.
No, Strong has the best of both worlds at Texas. He already has a recruiting pipeline in Florida from his days at Louisville. He can venture to Miami, Orlando or Tallahassee and kids will listen to him. He won’t always get the best athletes from the state, but he’ll steal a gem or two that can help build a program (see Teddy Bridgewater).
Now he is building relationships with the high school coaches in Texas. And in case you didn’t know, high school football is kind of big thing in the Lone Star State. Towns across the state literally shut down on Friday night to cheer on their respective teams. Texans can be fanatical about the sport. The movie Friday Night Lights is really about any high school football program in the state, not just West Texas.
Brown was the master at developing relationships with the high school coaches. In his heyday, he could walk into any high school, house or coffee shop in the state and sell the UT football program. Coaching it was his downfall. Strong is learning how to forge these same relationships, but with a twist. He is actually going to coach your son and make him a better player, and a better person.
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Who wouldn’t want that for their kid?
Let’s not forget that Texas has some pretty powerful boosters with very deep pockets. The athletic facilities are state-of-the-art and top-notch. A player would be hard-pressed to find better facilities anywhere in the country, including Florida.
When you listen to Strong talk, you get the sense there is unfinished business. Much like you would do with a piece of antique furniture, Strong is sanding down the rough edges and removing the old finish. He has already begun the restorative work – a process that will take some time. However, in the end the finished product will be better than ever.
So you see, Strong would be nuts to leave now. He’s just getting started.