Florida football: Rumors about Charlie Strong may be true

There has been a lot of speculation that a former Florida football coach could be making his way back to Gainesville. But, is it true?

Speculation has ramped up over the last few days regarding Florida football bringing back former defensive coordinator Charlie Strong to the staff.

Our brothers at Hook ‘Em Headlines asked the question about Strong returning to Florida after he was fired as the head coach of South Florida after the 2019 season.

Strong finished 2019 with a 4-8 record with the Bulls and was 21-16 during his three years in Tampa.

Prior to that, Strong spent three years in one of the toughest college football environments — coaching Texas — where he was a lackluster 16-21. His biggest success was with Louisville. Strong spent four years as the Cardinals’ head coach where he racked up a 35-15 record — including four bowl trips and three bowl victories.

His return to Florida football — as an analyst for head coach Dan Mullen — would be along the same lines as those regarding his offensive coordinator at USF, and former Florida quarterback — Kerwin Bell also joining the staff as an analyst.

The amount of speculation around the move by various outlets suggests there could be some truth to the rumors of one, or both coaches joining Florida football.

However, the rationale behind these moves is a little complex.

And neither would be the first former coaches at South Florida to leave Tampa for analyst roles elsewhere.

After he was fired as USF head coach, Jim Leavitt was brought on by then-Florida State head coach Willie Taggart to be an analyst before being promoted to a full-time assistant.

Clearly the motive for Strong and Bell would be to take at least a season and possibly get promoted or find a bigger role with another team.

But, what either Bell or Strong would add to either Todd Grantham (Florida football defensive coordinator) or John Hevesy (Florida football offensive coordinator) remains a question mark.

Strong does have Florida pedigree as he served as Urban Meyer’s defensive coordinator for the 2006 and 2008 national championship teams, but that’s about it.

While there may be truth to the rumors, it remains a struggle to find out just what either Strong or Bell brings to the table to add to the experience Mullen already has under staff.

Plus, this staff already has solid cohesiveness as they have built the program over the last two seasons into one that should contend for an SEC title in 2020.

For Strong and Bell, it’s a way to start over after a disastrous outing at South Florida. For Florida football, however, the benefits aren’t as clear.