Why Charlie Strong Turned Down Tennessee...

[Lukus Alderman]

I was watching "Strong" on LHN last week and I noticed a segment of the show where they talked about Strong turning down the TN job that was offered to him last year. They interviewed Lou Holtz and he said that the main reason that Strong gave was that Bridgewater was coming back and that he owed it to him and the rest of the team to join him.

While that sounds like a noble reason for him declining an SEC HC position that was once a top program, I have other thoughts as to why he turned it down.

1. I feel that he saw the roster at utk and realized that it was going to be a long-term fix. Let's be honest, Dooley was neither a great coach nor a great recruiter. He just wasn't cut out for it and it cost the Volunteers years and years of potential with the quality of players that were recruited. The effects of this bring me to my second point.

2. I don't believe that Strong would have a lot of time to rebuild. At Texas, the roster may be short on talent at various positions, but Mack did recruit well and has a good core of football players that will be able to generate 7-10 wins this season. If he were at TN, the heat and pressure to get them to a bowl game in year one would be just half of the problem. Expectations at Texas are high, but I'm not sure the fans in Austin are as unreasonable and lack basic football knowledge as the fans in Knoxville. I'm talking about fans that believe that if Peyton Manning was the head coach this year, the Volunteers would be in the national championship. That's not even touching on the fact that race would be a factor in whether or not Strong would be accepted here. Heck, the Vols' black HC took them to the sweet 16 this year and they rejoiced after the tourney when he packed his bags and left for another job.

While I believe that Strong is a good coach and will bring a solid season in year one, I think he made the right choice to turn down an SEC job and gamble. It obviously paid off, but even if he didn't make it to Austin, Louisville would've been a better place for him this year than Knoxville.

 

[texasdobbs]

Very good point...

 

[Matt Cotcher]

That moment and his bond with Jurich weighed heavily on Strong's heart a year ago when Tennessee offered him its head coaching job. He admits now that Vols AD Dave Hart did "a great job trying to convince me," but Strong couldn't accept. "There was a lot of work to be done at Louisville," he said. "I just couldn't leave that program."

I suppose it comes down to whether he's being totally honest. You make some valid points (although I'm not sure how reasonable the expectations of UT fans are), but I think his obligation to see his players through for one more year also played a big role. 

Interesting topic.

 

[Lukus Alderman]

I suppose it comes down to whether he's being totally honest. You make some valid points (although I'm not sure how reasonable the expectations of UT fans are), but I think his obligation to see his players through for one more year also played a big role.

Interesting topic.

Oh, there's no doubt both UTs have unreasonable fans, but the level of stupidity here (in Knoxville) supersedes that of the average Texas fan, in my opinion. Ignorance abounds here when it comes to the Vols and their expectations.

I believe that Strong was being honest in his own right. He was the HC there and felt they could do better...but he'd be lying to himself if he said that he would have stayed at Louisville over Texas or Florida or another upper echelon program.

 

[primal defense]

My guess is knew he was going to have a big season at Louisville, only Blake Bortles kept him from an undefeated season. Coach Strong figured a better job would come along because of that. A year ago it looked like the Texas, USC and Florida job could be opening up. If Coach Strong wouldn't have been offered the Texas job, then I believed he would have been the first choice for Florida if or when they fire Muschamp.

 

[J.B. TexasEx]

Expectations at Texas are high, but I'm not sure the fans in Austin are as unreasonable and lack basic football knowledge as the fans in Knoxville. I'm talking about fans that believe that if Peyton Manning was the head coach this year, the Volunteers would be in the national championship.

This condition seems to be pervasive at every SEC program with the possible exceptions of Vanderbilt and now Mizzou.

Another fact that makes TN less desirable is the overall lack of homegrown high school talent in that state.  The HC there must be a road warrior and recruit the heck out of OH and the southeast.  Based on HS talent rankings, it appears that Butch Jones is doing a good job, but time will tell.  UT is definitely a better job, no question.

 

[texasdobbs]

Let me quote him: "u can all go to hell; I will go to Texas"....

 

[echeese]

Tenn is pretty dead in the water. . . .

People can yap all they wish. . .some serious talent on the TEXAS roster. . . .you think it was JUST coaching that turned the defense around when Greg arrived?

Not that Greg didn't do a GREAT job but he had some PLAYAS .. . . 

I do not doubt that CS looked on the horizon and saw some MUCH better options coming open sooner rather than later .. . 

 

[Shevis Irons]

Maybe he just hated that hillbilly song they play over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and.....

 

[castlebravo1]

Tennessee fans are pretty beaten down after the late Fulmer, Kiffin, and Dooley years.  You really don't hear much about "UT" football up here right now (I live in Nashville), which is a big change from, say, 10 years ago.  It's interesting to observe how hard it is to climb back to the top after a program has lost its mojo.  Kind of like what we had in the late 80s and early 90s.

On a related note, it will be fun to see Kiffin back in Knoxville this fall when Alabama comes to town...

 

[bcherry168]

My observation is that Tennessee had had poor leadership in athletics for some time.

 

[Lukus Alderman]

My observation is that Tennessee had had poor leadership in athletics for some time.

Absolutely. Their previous men's AD left them in a very difficult position. His only good move was hiring Bruce Pearl, and even that coach proved to not work out.

 

[SFlonghorngirl]

Quinten Dormady committed to Tennessee.

 

[popdaddy]

Charlie Strong is a smart man. 

I lived in Nashville for four years, Knoxville is a pretty nice college town but the state of TN doesn't produce the number of quality athletes you would expect. TN is dependent on out of state recruiting.  The fans are obnoxious but insecure. UTN doesn't[t have the  financial support most sec,sec schools have.

U TN pretty much sucks, not to mention the puke orange uniforms.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

This thread is not complete without a smart ass comment from S-T-P.

 

[streettopeschel]

This thread is not complete without a smart ass comment from S-T-P.

Funny, i'd received messages from both MBHORNSFAN and santa gertrudis asking me to weigh in. they both really enjoy my contributions.

nothing as it relates to strong/tenn. but i can tell you the dormady's are pumped to have recruiting behind them. quenton has looked good in 7-7s and he should have a huge stat year given his game and the level of competition we'll play. he'll have games where he'll be bigger than the other teams d-line. gotta love 3A texas football.  or 4A next year.  

 

[java]

Remember the football player from Tennessee that had a 3 hour credit in Walking, Walking! Repeat 3 hours of credit for Walking, c'mon. I've always wondered if the final consisted of walking and chewing gum at the same time.

What a travesty!

And then there is James Franklin, pride of Vanderbilt, he was suspected of covering up the criminal activity occurring at Vandy. Suddenly everything is hush hush. What happened?

 

[java]

stp, I have a nephew who is all-state, first team. He loves high school football, but wants nothing to do with college sports. I believe he would be recruited in two sports, if he was interested, at all. He's not.

He wants to do triathlons. His parents support his decision.

 

[Lukus Alderman]

I think Butch Jones was the perfect hire for this program. He may not turn them into a super power, but he's taking a good approach and focusing on rebuilding the roster.