The college football coaching carousel is getting set to start up again, probably in a big way if the University of Texas is able to lure Nick Saban away from Alabama. If the Crimson Tide feels threatened, no program is immune from the poaching.

One sure bet is that Bobby Petrino, currently at Western Kentucky University, is surveying the landscape, anticipating a quick exit from Bowling Green. One year may not be penitence enough for Bobby, but some big name program won’t be able to restrain its ambitions. If winning is the ultimate objective, that offer could come from anywhere.

The University of Cincinnati, which seems to lose its head coach every other year, may be safe this time around. Or maybe not, with Tommy Tuberville possibly interested in returning to the Southeastern Conference. Too bad for Kentucky which hired someone else a year too early. He might have been a good fit in Lexington.

Charlie Strong’s name will appear on a couple of short lists but those are wish lists, not to be taken seriously. Strong is already one of the top 10 highest paid coaches in the country. His boss Tom Jurich has taken some other precautionary steps to encourage his coach’s continued loyalty, including keeping Clint Hurtt on staff and commissioning a feasibility study on stadium expansion.

Jurich himself rejected overtures from Texas for the athletic director’s post, which many would consider one of the top jobs in the country. Texas fans certainly think so. But there are too many bosses and second-guessers in Texas for anyone to ever satisfy many of them when it comes to football. We suspect Charlie Strong would make a similar decision if Texas were to start looking this way.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.

12 thoughts on “Football coaches come and go, but Charlie Strong stays”
  1. I have gone on record and will do so again:

    Charlie Strong is the UL Football version of Denny Crum. He comes from a top school. Learned from one of the Masters of the game. Will turn down offers from “better, bigger, etc.” schools to build his own legacy. He’s not going anywhere. He doesn’t need to go the “Bobby P.” route. Way to much integrity.

    Keep the Cardinal Faith…we have become a Destination.

    1. I love your optimism and enthusiasm but do you really think that he will always be our coach? I would love to believe that and I certainly hope he proves me wrong but I think at some point he will feel that he has paid his dues and move on. It would be great if he were to stay and turn us into a 5 star program though. I would love that

      1. John,

        Keep the faith. As I said UL has become a Destination school and CCS is the 1st of a few who recognize that.

        NO BS. Just CCS….hehehheheh

        Go Cards!

    1. So says an Alabama fan and it might be tempting but Charlie Strong has a great situation at the University of Louisville. Strong remembers all the passovers and rejections from his pre-Louisville days, you know.

    2. I am a Louisville grad and a lifetime Louisville fan. Louisville is a basketball school, first and foremost. I really started to follow Louisville football as a student. I watched John L. Smith leave for Michigan St. and Bobby Petreno leave for the NFL. Neither one of them ever mentioned having been looked over by other programs. Charlie Strong has mentioned this on numerous occasions. It bothers him that he was looked over for 25 years. He really enjoyed beating the snot out of Florida in the Sugar Bowl last year and he liked telling Tennessee what they could do with their job offer. He may not stay forever but I do see him staying a little while longer, atleast long enough to put it on some of those ACC teams that didnt hire him

  2. This article made me laugh. UL is no one’s dream job. It is a good job, but not a great one. UL is just a stepping stone to bigger and brighter things once a coach cuts his teeth. UL fans are so naaive. College football is big business and the coaches are like presidents. Strong has given you several years and a Sugar Bowl. He does not owe UL the rest of his career just because it gave him his first head coaching job. If Texas wants him then Texas will get him. I mean who would turn down Texas to stay at UL? Exactly – No one!

    1. Me for one. Not that anyone is going ask. Texas is not the mecca you think it is. You’re living in the past if you think UofL is a stepping stone. Get past the jock mentality.

    2. I have spent plenty of time in Austin and this is so longhorn. News flash, Dallas Cowboys are not very good in the NFL and Texas A&M is now the premier football program in the state. If Charlie leaves it’s for the Florida job. Texas can have Bobby P. 🙂

    3. No one! turns down Texas? How ridiculous. Cracks me up how simple minded folks always think they know what someones else’s career priorities are.

      Jim Tom you know what else comes with the Texas job? CRAZY fan base expectations. If a new coach had one bad season their life would become a living hell. Charlie Strong is also a devoted family man with two daughters in their final years of high school. He’s not going to move them for ANY job. He may leave after they graduate. Sure its possible. Before they do? No way.

      Your idiotic response makes me laugh.

    4. I am a Louisville grad and while I agree with you when you say that he doesnt owe us the rest of his career, I have to say that he has given us “several” years. He has been at UL for 4 years. He was an assistant at Florida for 20+. How is 4 years several? Also, he is a GOD in Louisville. Louisville is a basketball school and if we didnt have a hall of fame coach winning championships, Charlie Strong would be the face of the school. He doesnt have to deal with the scrutiny that he would at Texas. Plus, he is black, which would add even more scrutiny. If he didnt win a national championship by his third year, he would probably be fired. He doesnt deal with any of that at Louisville. Sure, Texas will pay him more money but he is already a very rich man. Coaching at Texas would take years off his life. Money can buy a lot of things but it cant buy time.

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