Charlie Strong is the latest in a long line of coaches to join Nick Saban’s staff with Alabama football. It’s only a matter of time before he’ll get another shot.
The Nick Saban coaching clinic has received its latest applicant. However, of all the coaches that have made their way through Tuscaloosa, this may be the strongest of the bunch.
According to a report from ESPN’s Chris Low, Charlie Strong, the former head coach at Louisville, Texas and USF, will join the Alabama staff.
Nobody has had more success bringing in former head coaches than Nick Saban, and he’s tapping back into that market with Charlie Strong, who has agreed to join the @AlabamaFTBL staff as a defensive analyst, sources tell ESPN. Strong had several opportunities to join SEC staffs.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) February 18, 2020
The last sentence of Low’s report only confirms what many thought. Strong, despite tough runs at Texas and USF (his combined record in his last two head coaching stops is 37-37), is still a widely respected coach that is seen as a valuable addition to any staff that has room for him.
His time at Louisville was his head-coaching high point, going 37-15 at a place that had been the definition of “basketball school”. He also had a great run as Florida defensive coordinator from 2003-09 (he held other coaching positions at times during that run as well).
With “several opportunities to join SEC staffs”, there’s no question that Strong is on his way to coaching at a high level sometime soon. He’ll likely spend a year in Tuscaloosa before taking a high-profile defensive coordinator job, or even another head coaching gig.
At 59, Strong likely has another head-coaching tenure or two in him. With the rub from Saban, the chances of Strong getting a shot go through the roof.
Fair to lump Strong in with the other Saban rehab projects?
The initial reaction to this news was to draw the parallel between Strong and other coaches who came to Alabama top rehab an image had been tarnished. The main difference, though, is that Charlie Strong’s image was never really tarnished. He just had a couple of disappointing tenures.
Lane Kiffin actually needed his image to be softened. He was seen as a young, brash, volatile coach, and there were constant whispers and worries about his alleged off-field behavior.
Steve Sarkisian really needed it too. He’d been let go by USC after showing up to a booster function, as well as practice, inebriated.
Butch Jones needs it, too. He’s still an intern at Alabama, because during his time as the head coach at Tennessee, he was so inept at talking to the media that he became a national punchline.
All of these coaches also needed to become better coaches. That is, however, the only similarity shared between them and Strong.
Charlie Strong, while struggling at Texas and USF, never became a punchline. He had tough moments, but he never became Butch Jones. His off-field behavior was never called into question.
It’s fair to say that Strong’s career could use the Saban boost at this time. That’s where the comparisons to Kiffin, Sark and Butch should stop though.