With an authentic personality and disarming charm, Charlie Strong may be one of the most well-liked individuals ever to work inside the University of Texas athletic department. But it always boils down to wins and losses.
In three seasons, Strong was 16-21 and holds the lowest winning percentage of any coach in Texas football history. An embarrassing 24-21 overtime loss to Big 12 cellar-dweller Kansas was enough for UT President Gregory L. Fenves. Friday's 31-9 loss to TCU removed all doubt.
School officials made the official announcement at 9:30 a.m. Saturday that Strong had been fired.
"In the end, the results over three seasons were not there," Fenves said in a statement. "It was not clear the future was going to be at the levels expected of Longhorn football."
In a statement, Strong called it "a very difficult day for me, my family and all of the people affected by this decision."
"I'm most disappointed for these kids and our staff who have poured so much of their lives into this program for the last three years," the coach said. "I do understand that it comes down to wins and losses, and we have not done our job in that area yet," the coach added. "I accept full responsibility for that, but know in my heart that we accomplished our primary goal, which is the development of young men."
Strong was 5-10 against ranked opponents and became the first coach to oversee three consecutive losing seasons since 1936-38. He was also 1-18 in games when the Longhorns were trailing at halftime.
"This was an important year for our program to take the next step, and the results simply aren't there, so we've decided to make a change," Men's Athletic Director Mike Perrin said in a statement. "We appreciate Coach Strong so much, are grateful for all he has done with our program and wish him the best in the future."
With a 5-7 record this year, the Horns will miss the postseason for the second consecutive season, something that hasn't happened scene 1992-93.
"I was told three years ago when I came in here to build a program," Strong said after the TCU loss on Friday. "Just look at the positives, look at where we are with this football team, how young we are. The wins and losses, they don't add up. But still it's more than just that. It's all about the total development, taking the program and moving it in the right direction."
Strong has two years remaining on a guaranteed contract worth $10.7 million. However, that didn't stop the university's top donors from wanting change.
Former UT President Bill Powers was ecstatic in January 2014 when he welcomed Strong from Louisville. The Arkansas native and career defensive coordinator was the first black coach of any men's sport in UT history. Strong also had the unenviable task of following the second-winningest coach in program history, Mack Brown, who played for two national titles.
However, Strong insisted he wished to be treated like anyone else, not like some history-making idol. "I just want to look at it as that I'm a coach," Strong said at his introductory press conference.
Strong ran his program by his personal moral compass whereby players could lose their scholarship by violating one of his five core values, which included being honest and not using drugs. He kicked 10 players off the team that first year and doubled the amount of drug testing that went on under Brown.
Strong won universal praise from UT administrators and parents. That's a primary reason how he captured consecutive top-10 recruiting classes the last two years. Dozens of recruits' parents told the American-Statesman they wanted their sons to play for a man of Strong's character.
But on the field, Strong went 6-7 in 2014 and 5-7 in 2015 with two of the worst defenses in school history. At Big 12 media days in July, Strong said, "You want to see progress. I totally agree with that."
Going into this make-or-break third season, Strong overhauled the offense and saw considerable progress in points and yardage. Doak Walker Award candidate D'Onta Foreman posted the second-greatest rushing season in school history. But the defense still gave up too many big plays. The Longhorns allowed 31.5 points per game, the second-highest total in school history.
Along the way, Strong fired or demoted eight assistant coaches, including his original offensive and defensive coordinators. Multiple in-game clock decisions proved costly, and the Horns even lost a possession with an embarrassing coin flip fiasco against UCLA in 2014.
Strong appeared to know he was in danger after last Saturday's loss, which ended the Jayhawks' 19-game losing streak against Big 12 opponents. His voice cracked as Strong said, "No idea."
