Half a month into it, and a Strong presence in the search for a new coach in South Florida just won’t go away.
In the more than two weeks since Al Golden was fired as Miami’s head coach, several names have been bandied about as potential replacements. Chief among them have been former Hurricanes head coach Butch Davis (HERE) and current Alabama assistant Mario Cristobal (HERE).
Late Tuesday night, one of the most respected names on the Miami sports scene, the Miami Herald‘s Barry Jackson, once again mentioned a previously-dismissed possibility for the job: current Texas head coach Charlie Strong. This time, though, it’s gone from “might emerge as a candidate” to “has interest” in the job. Here’s the relevant portion of Jackson’s latest update on the ‘Canes’ coaching search:Though public denials would be expected, UM people are under the impression that Texas’ Charlie Strong and Cincinnati’s Tommy Tuberville have interest in the UM job.
Strong is considered an appealing candidate if he and Texas part ways, but that likely wouldn’t happen until after the Longhorn’s regular-season finale Dec. 5.
In the days after Golden was fired, Jackson wrote that “some UM people believe Texas’ Charlie Strong, Georgia’s Mark Richt and Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez might emerge as candidates and that Strong and Rodriguez in particular would listen, despite the predictable denials from any employed coach.” Another report around that time, from CanesInsight.com, stated that "[s]ources close to his agent Jimmy Sexton say that Strong may not be all that happy in Texas.”
“No, I’m not going to Miami,” Strong said late last month, when the speculation first surfaced. “I have a great job. I’ve got to get things done here.”
Strong is in his second season at Texas, and has come under a healthy amount of what some would say is unwarranted criticism as the Longhorns are 10-12 overall and 8-7 in Big 12 play during the 55-year-old coach’s brief time in Austin. Whether Strong would bolt the Longhorns after just two seasons -- or whether the powers-that-be would jettison him after just two seasons -- very much remains to be seen.
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Another factor? Strong’s $5.1 million salary at UT is sixth nationally and second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops. Golden’s salary, meanwhile, was $2.54 million, which was seventh in the ACC. It seems unlikely The U would be able to even come close to matching what Strong is making financially at his current job.
The fact that Tuberville’s name is mentioned is far from surprising as he talked to the university the previous time the job opened up before Golden was fired. Tuberville, the head coach at Cincinnati, spent eight seasons as a Hurricanes assistant in the mid-eighties and on into the early nineties.
Jackson added in his most recent report that “some surprise” candidates could emerge as the national search plays out, but that there is no front-runner at this point.