I like Strong but he pissed me off with his coordinator hires/fires. Shawn Watson has never been good and and firing Akina and Robinson when both have shown they were great defensive coaches.
I think it's hard to say. Bad QB play makes everything else look worse - offense and defense. But until we have baseline decent QB play, i think it's impossible to say if the rest of the team would be good or mediocre. I have no problems with the house cleaning of coaches and complete change in culture - that was much needed, and I think any hire would have done it after seeing the dumpster fire that was in place at the time. But the willing of coaches to ignore the QB position just baffles me. The good teams all have QBs lined up each time one leaves.
I think what depends on him getting fired is his recruiting. If he doesn't build expectations by getting a top 10 recruiting class for next year, plus managing and coaching up this years team to a decent record this year, I think he may be in trouble.
It's also sadly amazing how little talent there is on the lines, especially the OL. The last year+ of the Mack regime I kind of assumed that "they've got players, they just need better coaching". It obviously wasn't just the coaching. I totally agree with you on the QB situation. I really don't need to see Swoopes ever again. Sink or swim with Heard the rest of this year, see if he's someone you can count on for next season. Also, it was the first game. Notre Dame may be pretty damn good this year, we'll see.
When was the last time Baylor or TCU had even a top 25 recruiting class? Some teams seem to do more with less.
He doesn't need to recruit. Texas will sell itself once they're good again, but for Strong, it looks grim. The Big 12 is largely a joke outside of Baylor and TCU, two schools who rarely pull any high-end recruiting classes. It shouldn't be hard to at least be competitive. They're just coached well and have good offensive and defensive schemes, something Strong seems thoroughly incapable of doing. Yeah he doesn't have a good QB on the roster, but the problems are obviously larger than just that.
Yeah, it was hard to watch. I'm trying to give Strong the benefit of the doubt. He's been tasked with cleaning up a program, which is tough. But we should never be that over matched. We looked like one of those directional st. schools that are paid to come get their ass kicked.
Nick rose kicked 4 field goals only one Counted. If rice is a close game then something drastic will happen. They just need to let heard play
you cant win a title with a clean program in modern college football.. charlie strong will learn that when he losses his job
It's hard to tell. There hasn't been a legitimate QB at Texas since January 2010. That is an indictment against Mack's final years as coach and is beginning to look bad on Strong. I agree with the JUCO sentiment: go out and try to get somebody. If Jerrod Heard is really so bad that he can't even pass Swoopes on the depth chart, somebody needs to be brought in. There have been problems with other parts of Texas football since 2010, but QB is at the heart of all of them. Great defense? They falter as the game goes on because the offense can't stay on the field. Decent running backs? The box is stacked against them because defenses don't respect the passing game. QB is disproportionately important on a football field and it's shameful that in a state like Texas, UT hasn't been able to bring in anybody since Colt McCoy to anchor an offense.
Why is there this myth that Texas is a football powerhouse that is destined to compete in championships every year? When did that start? Around about 2000 with Mack Brown. When I went to school, we were jumping up and down if we approached the top 15. Before Mack, it had been like 30 years since we were competing for championships, and we had a slew of coaches. I agreed with letting go Mack, but it will take more than just a competent coach for Texas to get back on top. Mack Brown in his early years really had it going on, and there aren't a lot of coaches who can replicate that. I don't have much confidence in Strong at this point. As far as recruiting goes, I will remind you that Texas had a #2 recruiting class in 2012. How did that work out?
After 66-3 Mackovic was a dead man walking. He was a terrible yankee football hire and everybody knew it once he was in town for a few months. The Nebraska game bought him a good bit of goodwill, but that only lasted so long. Mack Brown did change the program almost immediately. The fundraising, "excitement" around the program, the recruiting, it all started picking up around that time. Everything was great until Mack decreed he would stay on until Deloss decided to leave, and Deloss decreed he wouldn't leave until the Big XII-II was a toothless conference with UT at the helm, they both should have left a couple of years earlier.
Yeah, but there were other coaches who didn't get it done before Mackovic too. Before Mack Brown, we hadn't been in the top 5 since 1983. Why do people think it's our right to be a Top 5 team every year. What was the excuse of the coach in the late 1980's and early 1990's when we weren't even ending the year ranked? Texas may have a lot of money and all this, but that's not a new phenomenon? Obviously, that is not all it takes. You need a special coach. I don't get that vibe from Strong, but it's early.
