Charlie Strong, head football coach of the University of Texas Longhorns, will be fired, according to sources that spoke with the Austin American-Statesman.
In little less than three seasons, Strong notched 16 wins against 20 losses. Apparently sealing his fate was an overtime loss to Kansas – a team that came into the contest with just 1 win and 9 losses. But despite the reporting that Strong is gone, no official announcement has been made. This leaves Strong holding his weekly press conference and coaching through season’s end with his and the team’s future in limbo.
Brian Davis covers Longhorn football for the Austin American-Statesman. Davis says the decision to fire Strong was largely a result of losing to Kansas.
“I think in a perfect world, if it was left up to [University of] Texas President Greg Fenves, nothing would have been said, by anyone over the weekend,“ he says, “They had plans to make an announcement on Saturday, the day after the regular season finale. But I think losing to Kansas simply changed everything,”
Davis says people were speculating Strong’s longevity before Saturday’s game. Instead of releasing the decision through an unofficial report after the loss to Kansas, Davis says UT-Austin should have told Strong directly.
“It should have been just acknowledged in a very clean, orderly way,” Davis says.
Davis says the way UT-Austin made the decision about Strong has everything to do with the reputation of Texas football.
“This is still Texas and a big part of why there is so much dysfunction – let’s be honest – is because they were losing,” Davis says. “Fans, they just want to win. Every single person on the Forty Acres, they want this thing to work.”
Post by Betsy Joles.