If Texas is willing to be patient with Charlie Strong as he rebuilds the Longhorns football program, then Charlie Strong is committed to the task at hand.
Connected to the vacant head football coaching job at Miami ever since Al Golden's termination, Strong has continually deflected the rumors. But said rumors also hinged on speculation that Texas administrators may be running out of patience with Strong.
According to The Associated Press, both Strong and Texas' interim athletic director, Mike Perrin, appear to be on the same page: the football team and athletic department are going through a transitional phase.
"Well, I told our players that I'm not going anywhere," Strong said at his weekly press conference Monday, responding to a question about the Miami job. "I've made a commitment here, and we are going to see this program through and we're going to get it back on track. The players, they hear all the clutter and they laugh about it, and I told them, 'Listen, guys, it's nothing to worry about. I'm here, and I'm here for the duration.'"
Texas is 4-6 this season and will need to beat both Texas Tech and Baylor to finish with the same record they had last season. They have a win over Oklahoma to look to and they lost close games Oklahoma State and Cal tough, but blowout losses to the like of TCU, Notre Dame, and Iowa State loom larger.
Not only is Strong replacing a beloved figure in Mack Brown while the school transitions to a new chancellor and athletic director, but he is the first black head football coach in school history, The AP noted.
"I don't run from anything," Strong told reporters. "When you work so hard to place yourself in this position... you grind it out.
"We always talk to our players, you hang in there, it may not be the way you want, but so what? There's no self-pity."
