Nobody Seems To Know When Charlie Strong Will Be Fired, But It’s Probably Happening Soon

It’s officially not quite official. The University of Texas is firing Charlie Strong … well, depending on who you ask. The decision to fire Strong was first announced on Sunday afternoon by HookEm.com, and it was confirmed by ESPN’s Brett McMurphy.

The reports of Strong’s firing came on the heels of Texas losing to Kansas for the first time since 1938. The Longhorns lost 24-21, knocking the team to 5-6 on the year and putting it in a situation where it needs to beat TCU this week to become bowl-eligible. Considering how this season started – with Texas beating Notre Dame in Austin, ESPN saying that “Texas is back,” and the Longhorns jumping to No. 11 in the AP Poll – this is something of a surprise.

However, Texas athletic director Mike Perrin refuted those reports in a statement, saying that the decision on whether Strong will stick around will be evaluated after the season.

Additionally, one reporter out of Texas announced that Strong will face the media on Monday morning.

In just under three years at the helm of the program, Strong has led Texas to a 16-20 record and a 12-14 mark in the Big XII. He came to Texas after a successful stint as Louisville’s head coach, and prior to that, he was the defensive coordinator at Florida from 2003-09.

The Longhorns are in an interesting situation if they decide to fire Strong, because few (if any) programs have the money to go after a head coach that Texas possesses. However, this has long been seen at the place where Houston coach Tom Herman would eventually end up – one report from Oct. 24 said that Herman to Texas was “all but official.” There have been reports about “extreme pressure” mounting on the school’s administration from boosters to can Strong and hire Herman.

Still, the way that the university is handling all of this is nothing short of awful. There isn’t a single person alive who thinks Strong is going to be there after the TCU game. Based on his reaction to a question after the team lost on Saturday, Strong agrees that his time in Austin is limited.

It seems like the only people who don’t know that Strong is done are the people at Texas. Actually, let me rephrase that: Texas’ administration knows that Strong is done, but instead of doing something about it, they’d rather pretend like their minds are not made up and embarrass him.