The University of Texas will offer Louisville Coach Charlie Strong its head coaching job and he is expected to accept it, a person familiar with the search told The Associated Press on Friday night.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the process was being kept confidential and had not been completed. Texas has been looking to replace Mack Brown, who stepped down in December after 16 seasons with the Longhorns.
Numerous sources reported Friday night that Strong, a native of Batesville and a former player at the University of Central Arkansas, had accepted the job.
Sports Illustrated, citing a high-ranking Texas official, said Strong and the Longhorns had agreed to a five-year contract worth approximately $5 million per season. Rivals, 247Sports.com and Football Scoop also were among the media outlets reporting that Strong had been hired.
Texas Athletic Director Steve Patterson, hired in November to replace longtime AD DeLoss Dodds, interviewed Strong this week.Two other coaches Texas reportedly had interest in - Baylor’s Art Briles and UCLA’s Jim Mora - said publicly Friday that they were staying in their current jobs.
Strong, 53, told Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich on Friday night that he had not accepted the job, Jurich told ESPN’s Brett McMurphy. The coach wanted to talk to Jurich and Louisville President James Ramsey, another source told McMurphy.
Strong would be Texas’ first black head football coach, and he would inherit a program aching to return to its place among the nation’s elite programs.
The Longhorns won the 2005 season national championship and returned to the national championship game after the 2009 season, but the Longhorns fell to 5-7 in 2010 and have lost at least four games each of the past three seasons. The Longhorns finished 8-5 this past season and lost 30-7 to Oregon in the Alamo Bowl on Monday.
Strong is coming off his fourth year as Louisville’s head coach and his second consecutive season with at least 10 victories. The Cardinals were 12-1 this past season, which included defeating Miami 36-9 on Dec. 28 in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Louisville is 37-15 under Strong and tied for Big East Conference championships in 2011 and 2012.
Strong lettered four years (1980-1983) at Central Arkansas and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2009.
Sports, Pages 21 on 01/04/2014