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Can Texas afford to be patient with Charlie Strong?

By Hayden Hyde

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The temperatures across Texas are dropping but Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong is feeling the heat.

Texas suffered one of the worst losses in its history last week to TCU, so tempers are running high in Austin. Fans and donors are angry, and even some players have shown some concern. There’s nothing people in Texas take more seriously than football, and the University of Texas is no exception.

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In 2013, the Texas Longhorns posted record numbers for revenues and expenses, making it one of the most profitable organization in all of sports. Big money means big expectations, and Strong hasn’t met those these past two years.

Strong has accumulated an underwhelming record of 7-11 during his year and a half tenure, with his best victory coming against #23 West Virginia in 2014. Despite his on-field shortcomings, Strong was able to reel in a top 10 recruiting in 2015. However, he hasn’t been able to translate that recruiting success to the 2016 class; the Longhorn’s class ranks behind Texas Tech, Wake Forest, Houston, and Rutgers, among others according to 247 Sports.

The man who hired Strong, former athletic director Steve Patterson, is now gone. He was fired after donors told University of Texas president Gregory Fenves that they would no longer donate to the athletics program if Patterson was still there. Fenves obviously had his hands tied, there was no way he couldn’t fire Patterson, and I fear that Strong may meet the same fate.

Like I said earlier, Texas takes football very seriously, couple that with the “what have you done for me lately” football culture and Strong’s job is in trouble. The Longhorn’s fanbase is one of the most spoiled in the nation; they’ve experienced as much success as anyone in every sport, which has given them very unrealistic expectations. Donors are essentially really, really rich fans, and they obviously carry enough influence within the university to spur a coaching change.

I don’t believe Strong should be fired, but that’s not what I think will happen.

Less than two years is hardly enough time to judge a coach’s performance. I can remember Dallas Cowboy’s fans calling for Jason Garrett’s head after a second 8-8 season–which isn’t even a losing record, by the way. Now Garrett is one of the better coaches in the NFL, and led his team to a 12-4 record last year. Jerry Jones did something out of character and was patient with his young head coach. The extra time allowed Garrett to build his own culture and build the team he wanted, which is very similar to what I think Strong is trying to do.

Obviously there is a very different dynamic between a college football and NFL team. Jerry Jones is the sole decision maker of the Dallas Cowboys, but there’s a multitude of voices at Texas. Too many talking heads could mean Strong’s downfall.

Although things seem bleak, Strong’s contract may be working in his favor. if Strong is fired without cause before the end of his contract, the University of Texas will owe him the remainder of his contract. So, he’d earn about $16 million if he were fired at the end of this season. That’s a lot of money, even for one of the richest programs in collegiate athletics.

Strong shouldn’t be fired after two seasons. He inherited a dumpster fire of a roster from Mack Brown, so no one should’ve expected this rebuild to be a quick fix. However, he may not get the benefit of the doubt from the university or donors. As of now, it feels like Strong is a dead man walking.

Who knows? Maybe the Longhorns will run the table and not lose anymore games.

Crazier things have happened in college football.

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