Bielema sent message of support to embattled Texas coach Charlie Strong

Texas coach Charlie Strong, left, and Arkansas coach Bret Bielema shake hands following a press conference at the Westin Galleria hotel Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014 in Houston.
Texas coach Charlie Strong, left, and Arkansas coach Bret Bielema shake hands following a press conference at the Westin Galleria hotel Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014 in Houston.

— Following an upset loss at Kansas on Saturday and subsequent reports that his firing was imminent, Texas coach Charlie Strong received a text message of support from Arkansas coach Bret Bielema.

"I just sent him a little something that from an outsider, a guy that doesn't compete against him every day, I just think he does things right," Bielema said. "If you have every one of your players stand outside your press conference, you're doing something right."

Strong's Texas players attended Strong's weekly press conference Monday where he received several questions about his job status with the Longhorns.

Bielema said he sent messages of support to Strong and Longhorns secondary coach Clay Jennings on Sunday. Jennings coached for Bielema at Arkansas for two seasons before taking the Texas job during the last offseason.

"For whatever reason, I feel compelled to reach out to people who I think do things the right way," Bielema said. "...I knew they were going through some storms, so I hit Clay up, and then I've sat there as a head coach and you feel like you're on an island as well, so I just shot Charlie a text.

"We've known each other through the profession a little bit and we're both defensive guys. He got the job at Louisville when I was at Wisconsin, and I had always admired his work. We recruited a lot against each other in Florida."

Strong, an Arkansas native who played college football at Central Arkansas, is 16-20 in three seasons at Texas and will have a third consecutive losing season record if the Longhorns lose to TCU on Friday. Among Strong's losses was a 31-7 decision to Bielema's Razorbacks in the 2014 Texas Bowl in Houston.

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