Photo via The Dallas Morning News
The joy Texas coach Charlie Strong had after last year’s Red River Showdown victory is still very memorable for everyone who witnessed the game. We remember the joyous celebration after that win. Players tossing Strong in the air to celebrate their victory. Strong wearing that Golden Hat and seemingly smiling for the first time since he was hired. When Strong entered the postgame press conference, he was strutting like George Jefferson. He actually gave high-fives to every media member in the front row in a very “I told you so” kind of move since everyone doubted he could pull off the win. There was nothing anyone could say in response. Strong earned that moment. And in that moment, there was a belief this program was finally heading in the right direction.
In fact, here is what I wrote in The Sunday Pulpit on October 11, 2015:
Sure, there was a lot of pride in Texas’ 24-17 victory against Oklahoma, a win Longhorn fans are still recovering from. Losing against Cal sucks, but it is not like Texas players, coaches or fans will run into many Golden Bears soon. A loss against Oklahoma makes it hard for Texas fans to deal with coworkers on Monday. Longhorn players have to deal with the friends they grew up with bragging for an entire year. Coaches face the tough task of recruiting against Oklahoma after a loss. In other words, beating Oklahoma is a perfect start to the holiday season.
However, what you saw on the field after one of the greatest Red River Showdown victories in Texas history was not players simply celebrating a win.
They were celebrating their coach.
They were celebrating your coach.
That great moment was replaced by a realization Strong’s final days as Texas’ head coach might be getting closer after Texas’ 45-40 loss against Oklahoma on Saturday.
Simply put, Strong is running out of time.
Geoff Ketchum reported eight wins is the magic number for Strong this past week, which means winning six out of the remaining seven games. Sure, it can be done, but when a team gives up 444 offensive yards against Notre Dame, 507 to Cal, 555 against Oklahoma State and 672 versus Oklahoma, as @OwlsAndHorns pointed out on Saturday, this team is getting worse, not better.
Plus, if we are keeping it real today, there are very few teams that magically improve after five regular season games.
When a team begins offseason conditioning in January, works together throughout the spring and summer, gets geared up for the regular season in August, usually what you see is what you are going to get by week five. There are very few times a light bulb goes off and teams begin looking like Alabama right now. It is easy to say all a team needs to do is execute, but if the players could get the job done, this team would not be on a three-game losing streak.
This is not 100 percent on the players, because it does come down to coaching, but they deserve some of the blame. The little mistakes have become a consistent part of the product we are witnessing. Dropped passes are just inexcusable. Freezing when the ball is in the air should not happen. Strong told his players Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield would scramble around the pocket and buy time, but guys who were in a position to make plays failed to do so once again. After the game, Texas defensive tackle Chris Nelson said some guys just are not focused, a theme we always hear, and an attitude that should be pretty impossible to exist considering this team’s lack of success for so many years.
As Strong answered questions from reporters after Saturday’s loss, he appeared dejected. The questions have become repetitive. So have his responses. If he knew how to fix this team’s problems, he would have done it by now. He is trying, but nothing is working.
Photo via HookEm.com
Things are so bad, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit went overboard on Saturday when he described Austin as a cesspool. The traffic in Austin is pretty bad, but a cesspool? That is taking it too far.
As we discuss what has gone wrong, Herbstreit did have one valid point in his very irrational tirade.
Texas has failed to give Strong a superior athletic director who could have helped him be more successful at Texas.
A good athletic director would have sat down with Strong and made sure he assembled the right staff members during year one. That person would have his own list of qualified assistants who Strong should have hired, and helped him during the interview process. He would have made sure Cedar Hill football coach Joey McGuire was really interested in joining the staff before actively pursuing him and eventually being rejected. TCU assistant coach Sonny Cumbie would have never stepped a foot in Austin without a good athletic director knowing the road trip was just a formality (Heck, before I flew to Austin for my job interview, Ketchum and I already had an agreement in place).
Sterlin Gilbert initially refused to take the offensive coordinator job at Texas because he never met any administrators after being flown into Austin for his job interview, which is pretty ridiculous. As a result, Texas president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin were forced to get on a private plane at the last minute to give Gilbert the reassurances he deserved, and more importantly, end what was becoming an embarrassing search. Plus, a veteran athletic director would have sat with Strong before the season and encouraged him to remove Vance Bedford before having to demote his friend after four games.
This is not a knock on Perrin at all. He seems like a really nice man. Perrin does not view himself as a place holder, but nobody expects him to be in his current position a year or two from now. Basically, there are administrators who have worked in the athletic industry for years who could have provided a better support system for Strong, who excelled with that structure in Louisville. Any administrator who says they did everything to make sure Strong succeeded at Texas is not being honest.
That being said, sometimes life is not fair.
Strong is being paid $5 million a year to be the CEO of his program. Ultimately, he has to find ways to succeed even with the situation is less than ideal. Players have to make adjustments, but so do coaches at times, even if that meant leaning on coaches or former administrators who were not at UT. We all have jobs, and few people can say their environment is perfect. Nevertheless, we have to made adjustments to stay employed. If we cannot operate in less than ideal situations, our boss will replace us with someone who can.
The season is still salvageable, but most Texas fans are tired of losing. We will soon learn if this team is tired of getting embarrassed and finally steps up.
Things are so much different a year later.
Strong is running out of time.
Funniest Thing You Will See This Week
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Sports On A Dime
1. Last year, Texas receiver John Burt seemingly caught every pass thrown to him. This year, he is struggling. This is a funk Burt has to work his way out of.
2. We need to put every conversation about Texas being DBU on the shelf until further notice. There are too many mistakes being made by this secondary. Texas safety Dylan Haines receives a lot of criticism, but the cornerbacks severely struggled against Oklahoma.
3. So many college observers were focused on Texas’ loss against Oklahoma, many overlooked D’Onta Foreman’s 160 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Foreman needs to enter the NFL draft after this season. I think he has great upside on the next level.
4. Devin Duvernay’s three receptions for 81 yards and one touchdown was another bright spot on Saturday. Duvernay is clearly a playmaker who needs to get more touches since Texas needs to win shootouts this year.
5. I missed Houston’s loss against Navy, but find it hard to believe this defeat will affect the Tom Herman Sweepstakes. Most Texas fans are still keeping an eye on Herman. He just needs to avoid more upsets this season for a major job after this season, even if he does not land in Austin.
6. Stanford was once a hot team, but the embarrassing losses are starting to accumulate. A week after a bad loss against Washington, Stanford was pounded by Washington State, 42-16. In addition, Christian McCaffrey left the game with an injured hip. I am not sure how things get better for this squad.
7. A loss is not official until there is a Crying Jordan meme:
8. I do not think it is too early for me to eat my words about how Dallas would fail without Tony Romo. Honestly, I did not think Dallas had a chance to win more than one or two games with Dak Prescott, but the rookie has exceeded my expectations.
9. By the way, I might be one of the few people not worried about Giants receiver Odell Beckham’s slow start. It is just a matter of time before Eli Manning will shut up Beckham and feed him the ball. Well, at least that is what I keep telling myself as a Beckham owner in one of my fantasy football leagues.
10. I cannot be the only person who thinks Tom Brady is coming back with a vengeance against Cleveland on Sunday. I feel bad for anybody who is playing against Brady in fantasy football this week.
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