Former Louisville, Texas, and USF Head Coach Charlie Strong will join the Crimson Tide as a Defensive Analyst. As confirmation, his name is already listed on the Staff Directory on rolltide.com.
Strong, 59, made his way up the coaching ranks with several FBS programs, most notably in four different tours with Florida. He was first hired at UF by Ron Zook. Upon Zook’s termination, Urban Meyer retained Strong where he served as Defensive Coordinator during their run in the second half of the 2000s that included two National Championships. In 2010, Strong left for his first head coaching job at Louisville. Meanwhile in Gainesville, Meyer’s Gators went from 13-1 to 8-5 without his DC.
Strong turned the Cardinals into a national power going 11-2 and 12-1 in his third and fourth seasons before moving up the ladder to Texas. After three disastrous years in Austin and three more at USF, Strong found himself out of a job.
Terms of Strong’s contract buyout aren’t known, as he’s paid by the university’s fundraising arm, the USF Foundation. The direct-support organization is exempt from disclosing salaries under Florida law. However, he was set to make $2.6 million in the fourth year of the contract and $2.7 million in the fifth year. ~ WUSF
There had been reports that Strong had interviewed with Dan Mullen and was poised to rejoin the Gators staff. Instead, he joins Mike Stoops, Major Applewhite and Butch Jones as former FBS Head Coaches in analyst roles with the Crimson Tide.
Strong is a renowned recruiter and one of the best defensive minds in college football. He will be quite an asset to Nick Saban’s staff.