Charlie Strong met with the media Wednesday evening and disclosed his leading rusher - sophomore D’Onta Foreman - will be out indefinitely with wrist surgery scheduled for Thursday. And nobody cared.
The goings on of a 4-6 team isn’t top of mind when people think Texas football these days. It’s where Strong possibly will or will not coach in 2016.
And to that end, Strong didn’t exactly issue an emphatic denial.
“It’s all a rumor. We’re here to build a program,” Strong said, via the Austin American-Statesman. “I don’t know where it surfaces from. The thing I’ve got to do is just continue to work here and get this done.”
Saying he was as frustrated as anybody by his 10-13 start, Strong displayed a resolve to turn the U.S.S. Longhorn around.
“I have to be successful here, there’s no doubt,” he added. “There’s too many people counting on me to get it done. We have an unbelievable fan base here. I have the unbelievable support of our alums. We’ve got to get it done.”
To that end, Chip Brown wrote for HornsDigest Wednesday Strong has the full support of UT president Gregory Fenves and interim AD Mike Perrin, each newer to his post than Strong is to his. “Two sources close to the situation told HornsDigest.com UT president Greg Fenves and interim athletic director Mike Perrin are unequivocal in their support of Charlie Strong coming back in 2016 - even if Texas loses its final two games against Texas Tech and Baylor - because they believe in Strong and feel he didn’t receive the support he needed during his first 20 months at Texas,” Brown wrote.
But while Fenves and Perrin may have indicated through back channels they want Strong back in 2016, Strong himself never said Wednesday, unequivocally, he’ll be back next season. And until then, the rumors will persist.