fyi-there's a headline on ESPN.com about a rumor about Charlie Strong as coach of UGA. You have to be a subscriber to see the story
On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 4:07 PM, Badrish Davanagere <[email protected]>wrote: > Florida Gators' Strong should be a head coach > > - By Gene Frenette <http://jacksonville.com/authors/gene_frenette> > - Story updated at 6:34 AM on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 > > If Georgia and everybody else in the Southeastern Conference is looking for > a way to cut into Florida's league dominance of the past four seasons, maybe > they should begin lobbying football programs with potential head coach > openings to promote the most overlooked coordinator in the country. > > You want a better shot at knocking off the Gators? Then start networking to > get Charlie Strong out of Gainesville. Put the word out that Florida's > defensive coordinator has been bypassed long enough. > > Because frankly, the longer Strong is allowed to keep recruiting and > developing players for the Gators, the more likely coach Urban Meyer might > have a Spurrier-esque dominance in the SEC. Meyer's spread offense gets the > headlines, but the element most responsible for UF's championship success is > Strong's defenses. > > Remember what Bob Stoops did for Florida as its defensive coordinator from > 1996-98, finishing in the top 20 in total defense each of those years? That > landed him a plum head coaching job at Oklahoma at age 38. > > But here's Strong, 49, the architect of the nation's current No. 1-ranked > defense and coordinator on units that were the foundation of two UF national > title teams (2006, '08), still waiting for that call-up. > > You want to know why LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi State couldn't beat > Florida despite so much ineptitude and generosity from Meyer's offense? > Because the players Strong is responsible for molding into a stout defense > put opponents on lockdown. > > On Saturday at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, it'll be Georgia's turn to > figure out how to find cracks in Strong's defense, which is elite in every > significant category - total defense (No. 1), scoring defense (No. 2), > rushing defense (No. 12), passing defense (No. 2) and third-down percentage > (No. 2). > > It begs this question: Why has Strong not landed a Football Bowl > Subdivision head coaching gig, or worse, never been offered one? > > Contrary to common speculation, not every successful African-American > coordinator who fails to ascend is the victim of racial discrimination, > though the numbers (seven black head coaches among 120 FBS schools) are > deplorable. Some well-qualified white coordinators have also been denied a > promotion. > > But in Strong's case, he isn't just a successful coordinator who happens to > be black. The boss of UF's defense has arguably the most impressive > college resume of any coordinator out there. > > So why have other ex-UF coordinators like Stoops, Ron Zook, Larry Fedora > and Dan Mullen landed head coaching jobs, all with great or respectable > programs? Yet Strong has been rejected by, among others, Minnesota, > California, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech? > > This past offseason, as another hiring cycle passed, Strong publicly > wondered if schools might take issue with him having a white wife. That's > all speculation. Who knows why Charlie Strong, who received no raise from > his $310,000 salary despite holding Oklahoma's high-powered offense to 14 > points in the national title game, can't get a head coaching job? > > What I do know is, as long as Strong is running the Florida defense, Urban > Meyer and the Gators will be tougher to beat. > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
