That's if they give Strong time. He's got in roads to make with the HS coaches here in Texas. That won't take place overnight. Funny, i was at a golf event a couple weeks ago and heard a group of folk talking about how HC Strong is just like HC Sumlin. I stuck my head into the group and told the F'ing Idiots, that other than both being black men, they are absolutely not alike at all. Personalities are completely different. Sumlin's a Purdue guy, big city background and if you've ever been around him, he's the type of guy that draws people to him. He's a cool dude. He can fit into an Urban crowd, and C&W crowd, a suit and tie crowd, he's just that kind of guy. I don't believe HC Strong is that guy yet. He's always been a big fish in a little pond, well now' he's a little fish in an Ocean and it will be interesting to see how he grows.
Last year I started to write an article on my website but never got around to finishing it. It was about how hard it is for a new coach to take over a program where it's former coach was there for a decade or longer. And good or bad still had their footprint all over the program. It can be very hard to bring in an entire system and staff to take over a program that's used to doing things a certain way, and have them buy into it in a short period of time. Just ask Rich Rodriguez. And Tennessee also went downhill after Fulmer left. Both of those coaches both left on a sour note. And things still didn't improve. I can name many others. USC after Pete Carroll, OU after Barry Switzer, Florida after Spurrier, Cal after Tedford, KSU after Snyder before he came back. Neither Carr or Fulmer were successful in their last years, but their footprints were still all over the program. It makes it doubly hard when a school doesn't hire from within and goes with an outsider. The only outsider that I've seen successfully take over a program from a longtime coach and find immediate success is Urban Meyer at Ohio St. That's about it. Jimbo Fisher was hired from within, which gave him a better chance at success. Perhaps the most important issue is whether a coach feels wanted by it's employee and fans, and not be a fish out of water like RR was.
Given the longevity of Mack Brown's 16 years at Texas, his footprint is all over the program and it's biggest donors and fans. Charlie Strong comes in as an outsider and a fish out of water since a couple of well known donors/fans have already made their opinions known about their new coach. And you KNOW these aren't the only Sterling's down there in Austin. They'll be scrutinizing Strong's every move down there. Even if every move he makes is the correct one, the bottom line still comes on the field, and how quickly he brings success. And what Texas fans definition of success is. It's a tough call. But I've just given you a slice of history when it comes to taking over for longtime coaches. I hope Strong is something special. And by that I mean "Urban Meyer special."
A couple of thoughts about the last 2 posts... a head coach to come from the outside to the inside that surpasses the coach he replaced would be Jim Mora. Not much to say about the man he replaced other than Neuheisel played at UCLA... FWIW, Mora has stated that he would just as soon stick around UCLA and finish out his coaching career there. Perhaps it will wind up being Jim Mora who winds up with his finger prints all over UCLA in time.
Then there was WinOne's fortunate experience to come upon a group of blind white boys that have a hard time distinguishing Sumlin from Charlie Strong, being that they are both black men. I have to say that sometimes I feel a little embarrassed to admit that I too am a white man. I can't distance myself from jerks like them fast enough. I know that Texas fans are very uncomfortable seeing a guy with Strong's credentials at ATM. Our very own JBL seemed quite eager to see Sumlin take on Kiffin's job. For the Longhorn's sake, get that man out of the way!! Too many Texas recruits were now eying ATM. Perhaps they see Sumlin's race as being to his advantage in that way? Could that possibly have anything to do with Charlie Strong getting offered the job to begin with? Is he expected to stem the exodus of black talent to places other than UT?
Then there was WinOne's fortunate experience to come upon a group of blind white boys that have a hard time distinguishing Sumlin from Charlie Strong, being that they are both black men. I have to say that sometimes I feel a little embarrassed to admit that I too am a white man. I can't distance myself from jerks like them fast enough. I know that Texas fans are very uncomfortable seeing a guy with Strong's credentials at ATM. Our very own JBL seemed quite eager to see Sumlin take on Kiffin's job. For the Longhorn's sake, get that man out of the way!! Too many Texas recruits were now eying ATM. Perhaps they see Sumlin's race as being to his advantage in that way? Could that possibly have anything to do with Charlie Strong getting offered the job to begin with? Is he expected to stem the exodus of black talent to places other than UT?
I think Mora will do a great job there at UCLA. But what I was referring to was coaches who were taking over for coaches who have been at their school for a long time. I think Neuheisel was at UCLA for only 3 or 4 years. Not enough time for a coach to put his fingerprint on a team. That's why coaches like Peterson, Franklin, Petrino, Sarkasian all have a pretty good chance at success. They are all taking over programs that are starting fresh without having to deal with stepping in for a longtime coach. Charlie Strong is the only one we don't know about. I think he's got an uphill battle. But even if he fails, it still doesn't take away the fact that he's a pretty good coach. But like Rich Rod, he may not be in the right situation for himself to be successful.
heard him on the radio this week...very engaging fellow. can definitely see why he's a strong recruiter
speaking of which for those who truly believe recruiting services don't know WTF they're talking about (btw there are 10x more players rated 3 stars than 4&5 stars) you can see the breakdown below. 2 out of 32 were rated 2 or less stars and 18 out of the 32 were 4-5's despite having so few players rated that high. And this is nothing new:
2014- four 5-stars, 13 four-stars, 12 three-stars, 3 two-stars (14 on Rivals' annual top 250)
2013- Five-Stars: 5 (15.6%) Four-Stars: 12 (37.5%) Three-stars: 12 (37.5%) Two-star: 1 (3.1%) Not Ranked: 2 (6.3%)
2012- four 5-stars, 13 four-stars, 10 three-stars, 4 two-stars (weeden was drafted but was too old for rivals' rankings)
what is remarkable about these numbers (35/62 first rounders L2 years, 53/93 were 4-5 stars) is 4-5 star recruits make up only about 10% of an annual recruiting class for 1-A football as there are, on average, 3000 recruits signed among the 124 schools. TEN PERCENT of kids are making up more than 50% of the first round....
5-stars along getting 14 drafted out of 93 is pretty remarkable considering these make up less than 1% of an annual recruiting class
Strong just finished a tour of Texas to meet with coaches and fans. Hard to know how that will really sit with coaches around the state. Some will like his direct approach and his success at LV (as well as sending players to NFL). Some will miss the schmoozing Mack Brown demeanor.
I guess it helps Texas that Charlie can recruit Florida, but still much work to be done in Texas.
