Charlie Strong Is The USF Bulls New Head Coach

By
James Williams
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USF AD Mark Harlan lands his man Charlie Strong to coach the Bulls

USF has named Charlie Strong as the man who will replace Willie Taggart as the fourth head coach of the Bulls. He was the man that USF A.D. Mark Harlan, wanted from the start and a great deal of credit must go to him for landing such a quality coach like Strong.

We expect that he will be introduced as soon as Monday and as the Flagship Station for the USF Sports Network. WWBA AM 820 will be broadcasting the press conference live whenever it happens.

Both USF and Strong confirmed the hiring in a release.

“Charlie is a tremendous leader and mentor for our student-athletes and a widely-respected coach with a resume full of achievements at the highest levels of college football,” athletic director Mark Harlan said in a USF news release. “He combines a drive to win with great integrity and deep, long-standing connections in the state of Florida.  The future of USF football is very bright under his direction.”

“I am humbled that we have a shared commitment to take this university and this football program to even greater heights,” Strong said in the release.

“I would like to thank President Genshaft and Mark Harlan for their confidence and belief in me,” Stong said.“I am humbled that we have a shared commitment to take this university and this football program to even greater heights.  Some of the best football talent in the country is right here in the Bay Area and throughout the state of Florida, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with the young men in the USF football program and build on the strong foundation already in place.”

MUST READ; Taggart didn’t leave the cupboard bare. 

It has been less than a week ago that Bulls Nation was rocked by the news that Taggart, who led the Bulls to a school record 10 wins with only 2 defeats, plus a trip to face South Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl was leaving to be the head coach at Oregon. But within 24 hours of Taggart leaving, Harlan, was after Strong and was going to land what just be the best hire in school history.

Strong inherits a team that’s loaded with talent. The team’s two-deep roster features 21 underclassmen and 18 of the 22 starters are juniors or younger.

Charlie Strong, has a potential Heisman Trophy candidate in the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback, Quinton Flowers. He was the Bulls first ever quarterback pass for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 in single season. Also there is AAC First Team star running back Marlon Mack, the school’s all-time leading rusher.

Charlie Strong known for his defense and USF has plenty of young talented kids for him to work with. So, Strong comes to Tampa with a chance to keep the program on a winning trajectory.

The 56-year old. Strong, has an impressive resume, despite having back-to-back losing season’s at Texas he left the Longhorns with plenty of talent. He recruited some of the nations best players to Austin, but the administration at Texas did not give him the time to turn the program around.

He led Louisville to a 37-15 record from 2010-2013, which included two double-digit win seasons and a 2013 Sugar Bowl win over Florida. Prior to Louisville, Strong was a long-time assistant for the Gators, coaching a defense that won two national championships under his watch.

The two-time Big East Coach of the Year has served under Steve Spurrier, Lou Holtz and Urban Meyer.

He is considered one of the best recruiters in the country and his last two recruiting classes at Texas were ranked by both Rivals and 24/7 as Top 15 in the nation classes. He also spent 14 years recruiting in the state of Florida so he knows every high school coach in the state so he can hit the ground running soon.

Under Taggart, the Bulls won a program-record 10 games in 2016. He was officially introduced at Oregon on Thursday, signing a five-year deal worth $3.2 million annually.

Strong’s contract with USF will likely be in the $2-million a year range for five year with incentives that could push that number to the $3 million range. The deal is offset by a portion of his $11 million buyout from Texas.

 

James Williams
Jim Williams is the Washington Bureau Chief, Digital Director as well as the Director of Special Projects for Genesis Communications. He is starting his third year as part of the team. This is Williams 40th year in the media business, and in that time he has served in a number of capacities. He is a seven time Emmy Award winning television producer, director, writer and executive. He has developed four regional sports networks, directed over 2,000 live sporting events including basketball, football, baseball hockey, soccer and even polo to name a few sports. Major events include three Olympic Games, two World Cups, two World Series, six NBA Playoffs, four Stanley Cup Playoffs, four NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournaments (March Madness), two Super Bowl and over a dozen college bowl games. On the entertainment side Williams was involved s and directed over 500 concerts for Showtime, Pay Per View and MTV Networks.