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Report: Charlie Strong Being Pursued For USF Job
Charlie Strong is reportedly a serious candidate for the open USF job per multiple reports. He is being aggressively pursued by the Bulls.
December 8, 2016
USF is reportedly making a big push for former Texas head coach Charlie Strong, and could very well have him locked up as soon as this weekend.
It looks as though Charlie Strong may not be out of work for long. On Thursday, shortly after it was reported the former Longhorns coach had spoken with Temple regarding its vacancy, separate reports surfaced that Strong is atop USF’s coaching list and is currently being pursued to fill the open position.
Strong and USF have reportedly spoken, and contract details could be ironed out quickly so as to give the head coach some – albeit not much – time to contact recruits before college football’s recruiting dead period sets in. The dead period starts on December 12.
Were Strong to accept, he’d be in a position to succeed immediately. Former head coach Willie Taggart left behind a club that went 10-2 and is headed to the Birmingham Bowl to face South Carolina – somewhat ironically, one of Strong’s former employers. Star quarterback Quinton Flowers returns, and will be a trendy pick as a “Heisman dark horse” next year. Should they sign the coach, USF officials likely envision Flowers and the Bulls having a season similar to what Strong turned in at Louisville with Teddy Bridgewater under center – i.e. a New Year’s Six bowl game led by a future NFL talent.
Perhaps the biggest boon in hiring Strong would be the coach’s recruiting ties to the state. He was a longtime assistant at the University of Florida, and under the likes of Steve Spurrier, Ron Zook and Urban Meyer locked down some of the best classes in program history. At USF he would pull from a talent-rich area and present one more top-shelf coach in a state already inhabited by Jimbo Fisher, Mark Richt, Butch Davis, Jim McElwain and Scott Frost. USF would be flexing its muscles and showing that it will not roll over in the state of Florida’s uber-competitive recruiting landscape.
Strong was let go from Texas after three years with the program, having compiled a record of 16-21. He repositioned a rudderless program, though was unable to fully turn the ship around. His career coaching record is 53-37.
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