Texas officially fires Charlie Strong
Texas has officially fired Charlie Strong.
After three seasons and a 16-21 overall record, including a 12-15 mark in the Big 12, the school announced the move to part ways with Strong on Saturday morning.
“Decisions like this are tough to make. The responsibility is not taken lightly,” Texas athletic director Mike Perrin said in a statement. “I became friends with Charlie Strong before becoming Athletics Director. I have the utmost personal respect for him. His impact on college athletics and student-athletes should be celebrated. Coach Strong represented The University of Texas with class and dignity, and he demanded our student-athletes do the same by adhering to his system of core values.
“However, after thorough evaluation, the body of work over three seasons has not shown the improvement we were hoping for. This was an important year for our program to take the next step, and the results simply aren’t there, so we’ve decided to make a change. We appreciate Coach Strong so much, are grateful for all he has done with our program and wish him the best in the future.”
The decision to fire Strong comes a day after the Longhorns finished the season with a 5-7 record with a 31-9 home loss to TCU. The TCU loss followed a loss at Kansas, which had not won a conference game since November 2014.
Strong arrived at Texas in 2014 after a four-year tenure as head coach at Louisville that included a 23-3 record over his last two seasons. Strong inherited a rebuild from Mack Brown, overhauled the roster and implemented wide-reaching culture changes. He recruited at a high level, too, but it never quite translated on the field.
The Longhorns went 6-7 in his first season, losing in the Texas Bowl to Arkansas before missing a bowl in back-to-back seasons with consecutive 5-7 seasons in 2015 and 2016.
“It’s a very difficult day for me, my family and all of the people affected by this decision. I’m most disappointed for these kids and our staff who have poured so much of their lives into this program for the last three years,” Strong said in a statement. “I do understand that it comes down to wins and losses, and we have not done our job in that area yet. I accept full responsibility for that, but know in my heart that we accomplished our primary goal, which is the development of young men. We have had a positive impact on our campus and the community, and I’m proud of how our team is focused on earning their degrees.
“We were developing something really special. This program has a championship foundation built on great young men with tremendous character. There are very bright days ahead, and I’ll be pulling for these kids no matter where I am. I want to thank everyone who supported me and this program for the last three years. I don’t regret coming to Texas. I learned a great deal and grew as a person in my time here. I’ll miss the opportunity to lead this program going forward, but I’m ready to accept my next challenge.”
Now Texas shifts its focus to a coaching search, where Houston head coach Tom Herman is expected to be the top target. Herman was linked to the opening at LSU, but the Tigers lifted the interim tag from Ed Orgeron after Herman reportedly indicated Texas was his preferred destination.
For more Texas news, visit Orangebloods.com.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
