Florida football: Report says Charlie Strong headed to Alabama
Apparently Florida football has lost out on bringing back a former coach to its ranks. The beneficiary: the Alabama Crimson Tide.
After being let go as head coach at South Florida, reports of former Florida football coach rejoining the Gators started to surface.
That has all changed.
Now, it appears that former defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer, Charlie Strong, is headed to Alabama to be a defensive analyst for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.
Chris Low of ESPN.com reported on Tuesday that Strong has agreed to the position in Tuscaloosa.
Nobody has had more success bringing in former head coaches than Nick Saban, and he’s tapping back into that market with Charlie Strong, who has agreed to join the @AlabamaFTBL staff as a defensive analyst, sources tell ESPN. Strong had several opportunities to join SEC staffs.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) February 18, 2020
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.
Over the last six years of his coaching career, Strong was 37-37.
Initial reports were that Strong would join his South Florida offensive coordinator and former Florida football quarterback Kerwin Bell on staff with Dan Mullen in Gainesville.
Neither would be the first former college football coach at South Florida to become analysts 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.
Strong had been a coach with Florida football on four different occasions. He was the defensive tackles coach from 1991-1994 and defensive ends from 1991-1993. He was the outside linebackers coach from 1988-1989 and started his coaching career with Florida football as a graduate assistant in 1983-1984.
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Before coming to serve with Meyer, Strong was the defensive coordinator at South Carolina from 1999-2002 and the defensive line coach at Notre Dame from 1995-1998.