Strong wants to stay on job
School officials say re-evaluation at season’s end
AUSTIN — It felt, at first, like a farewell.
Amid a multitude of reports that Texas administrators had decided their coach’s fate, dozens of Longhorns players crowded into the Centennial Room at Bellmont Hall on Monday for Charlie Strong’s weekly news conference.
The night before, when he walked into a team meeting room, he had to assure players they were not “seeing a ghost.” But Monday, as he began his remarks by praising them as men and stressing the need to win their final game, it seemed as though he just might be preparing to vanish. But then, instead of saying goodbye, Strong made a plea to stay.
“Next year, I want to come back,” Strong said. “I look at the job this staff has done and the players they’ve put in place and how far we’ve come.”
During a 30-minute session in which he spoke proudly of the foundation he had built and predicted that it would lead to a national title for his current core group of players, Strong also insisted he had not been told by his bosses he would be fired.
Evaluation upcoming
On the contrary, Strong said, he was informed by president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin they would stick to their long-stated plan of evaluating the coach at the end of the season.
Asked if UT leaders had made up their minds about his future after his program hit a new low by losing at 1-9 Kansas on Saturday, Strong shook his head.
“I don’t really think so,” Strong, 56, said. “I’d like not to think it has, because I’ve been told they would make the decision after the TCU game (this Friday). I don’t believe it has been done.”
Perrin, who had been a regular observer at Strong’s news conferences for most of this season, was not in the room Monday. The night before, he issued a statement reiterating Strong would be evaluated at the end of the season.
Strong, who has a 16-20 record at UT and is owed an additional $10.7 million even if he is fired after this season, said he believes beating the Horned Frogs (5-5, 3-4 Big 12) could help his chances of returning for a fourth season.
The Longhorns (5-6, 3-5) need a victory to qualify for a bowl, and to avoid a third consecutive losing season under Strong.
After reports spread Sunday that UT leaders had decided to fire Strong, several players discussed the idea of boycotting the TCU game to show support for
their coach, wide receiver Jacorey Warrick confirmed. But he said those plans were never serious.
“We’re not going to boycott,” Warrick said. “There were people angry and expressing their emotions.”
“That won’t happen,” Strong said in response to a question about a boycott.
Players back Strong
But just because the players are not formally protesting Strong’s treatment does not mean they are happy about it. Senior defensive tackle Paul Boyette spoke to reporters for 10 minutes with tears streaming down his face while expressing his admiration for Strong.
Boyette gave the coach credit for teaching players “how life works,” and said, “No person deserves to be in this type of limbo, at all.”
“Wins and losses do matter, especially at the University of Texas” Boyette said. “But I don’t think you can give a person just 36 months to turn a program around.”
Warrick said the 40-50 players who attended Monday’s event coordinated the appearance via group text message. In a surreal scene, the same coach whose voice cracked when asked about his future in Kansas was greeted with applause, hugs and handshakes after his news conference less than 48 hours later.
“He doesn’t have the support, I guess, of some of the people who are trying to get him out,” Warrick said. “But the people who really matter, the players, you can see where our support lies.”
Players said they realize their support might not matter enough to bring Strong back. But like their coach, they predicted that whoever takes his place will benefit from the groundwork he laid over the past three seasons.
“If they hit the jackpot, go to a national championship, win the Big 12,” Boyette said, “they’ll know who got ’em there.”