The three-year hiatus from relevance is about to end.ACS

Charlie Strong is coming to town. Got a big job to do, putting a competitive University of Louisville football team on the field at Papa John’s.

The big question among Florida fans is whether Strong will coach the Gator defense against Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl. Urban Meyer seems to want him to do that but says it’s up to Louisville.

So let’s make a deal, say a home-and-home series, to make that happen.

Otherwise, sorry. Time for both teams to move on. Any time he spends at Florida is time wasted from what will require a 24/7 effort at Louisville.

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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.

9 thoughts on “Sugar Bowl Irrelevant For Strong Unless …”
  1. everyone also needs to be patient and support coach strong. with the defense playing the way they have been the last 2 years, he has a major rebuild on his hands. i dont mind losing for a little while if the team shows up and plays hard, which i saw little of the last 2-3 years.

  2. I THINK BY FINISHING HIS COACHING DUTIES COACH STRONG IS SHOWING WHAT KIND OF A GUY HE IS. HE WANTS TO FINISH HIS COMMITTMENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA AND HIS FORMER PLAYERS. AFTER THE LAST THREE YEARS OF BULL, A COUPLE OF MORE WEEKS WON’T MATTER. I’M SURE THAT DURING HIS DOWN TIME FROM PREPARING FOR THE BOWL GAME HE’LL BE PUTTING HIS STAFF TOGETHER. ADDITIONALLY, HE’LL BE IN FLORIDA MAKING CONTACTS WITH HIGH SCHOOL COACHES AND RECRUITS. I GUARANTEE YOU HE WONT BE LAYING ON THE BEACH.

  3. Strong should make the change immediately. If after twenty plus years of preparation he is not willing to take 100% ownership of the position then he might not be the right man for the job. I understand the emotions involved with making changes, but this is big boy football and his current players will understand. Florida will get along just fine without him for the next couple of weeks in preparing for a meaningless game. Strong is taking over for a coach that failed. He needs to quickly access what he has to work with and develop a plan. He is taking over a recruiting class from a coach that failed. It may not be can we keep the commitments as much as should we keep the commitments. All of this needs to start immediately, not in a couple of weeks. If Strong is the coach we think he is, nothing should be more important than taking immediate ownership of the Louisville program.

  4. A very good point, Charlie…perhaps a chance for the both of them to discuss what worked for Strong over the years and some insights to the returning players. Remember, this is not a bitter departure…one would surmise Charlie will still want Gator Nation to remain competitive and winners and he would (I would think) be very willing and cooperative to “go over the keys on the chain” with the new guy.

  5. I can understand Strong wanting to coach in the bowl game with the players he recruited and spent 4-5 years with. UofL isn’t going to turn this thing around over the Christmas holiday. If Strong can start getting a staff in place, follow up with recruits and spend a little time here…I see no reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to have this final game with his guys.

  6. Bring on the Gators!!! You know what happened to The U and the Noles the last time they were here!!!

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