Charlie Strong Fired by Texas: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Charlie Strong's time in charge of the Texas Longhorns is over after three seasons. The program announced its decision to fire Strong on Saturday.

Texas provided a statement from men's athletics director Mike Perrin:

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Decisions like this are tough to make. The responsibility is not taken lightly. I became friends with Charlie Strong before becoming Athletics Director. I have the utmost personal respect for him. His impact on college athletics and student-athletes should be celebrated. Coach Strong represented The University of Texas with class and dignity, and he demanded our student-athletes do the same by adhering to his system of core values. However, after thorough evaluation, the body of work over three seasons has not shown the improvement we were hoping for. This was an important year for our program to take the next step, and the results simply aren't there, so we've decided to make a change. We appreciate Coach Strong so much, are grateful for all he has done with our program and wish him the best in the future.

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Strong also gave a statement:

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It's a very difficult day for me, my family and all of the people affected by this decision. I'm most disappointed for these kids and our staff who have poured so much of their lives into this program for the last three years. I do understand that it comes down to wins and losses, and we have not done our job in that area yet. I accept full responsibility for that, but know in my heart that we accomplished our primary goal, which is the development of young men. We have had a positive impact on our campus and the community, and I'm proud of how our team is focused on earning their degrees. We were developing something really special. This program has a championship foundation built on great young men with tremendous character. There are very bright days ahead, and I'll be pulling for these kids no matter where I am. I want to thank everyone who supported me and this program for the last three years. I don't regret coming to Texas. I learned a great deal and grew as a person in my time here. I'll miss the opportunity to lead this program going forward, but I'm ready to accept my next challenge.

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Chip Brown of HornsDigest.com and Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel first reported Friday night that Strong would be fired Saturday morning.

The 56-year-old entered the 2016 season on the hot seat. A 50-47 overtime win against the then-No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and a 2-0 start seemed to buy him some time and job security, but the Longhorns lost four of their next five games.

After Texas fell to Oklahoma State 49-31 on Oct. 1, Perrin cast doubt on Strong's future.

"We need to evaluate what happened here," he said, according to OrangeBloods.com's Anwar Richardson.

Perrin attempted to control the damage, saying he was "evaluating everything" and not Strong specifically, per ESPN.com's Jake Trotter, but the writing was on the wall.

On Oct. 3, Thamel spoke to a high-ranking Longhorns official who said Strong was "very close" to being fired at the end of the season.

If any hope remained of Strong holding on to his job at that point, it evaporated once Texas lost to Kansas—which was 1-9—last week for the first time since 1938. Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde thought that was the final nail in Strong's coffin:

Through it all, Strong maintained a strong relationship with his players.

The team was on hand to clap for its head coach after his press conference Nov. 21, courtesy of the Austin American-Statesman's Brian Davis:

Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman shared a picture of an emotional D'Onta Foreman after the Longhorns lost to TCU in their final game of the year:

There's no question Strong inherited a tough situation when he replaced Mack Brown. While Brown is a college coaching legend, Texas largely limped along near the end of his time with the program. He left the Longhorns in a state of disarray, and a major rebuild awaited his successor.

As Thamel argued back in October, Strong helped improve the program's infrastructure. In terms of on-field product, though, the Longhorns haven't made any significant strides:

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Texas officials are pleased with how he's recruited and overhauled the program's talent and culture in the wake of the lack of talent and discipline left behind at the end of [Brown's] tenure. But there are too many details in game management and special teams that the Longhorns have struggled with. Texas getting three extra points blocked in the first half at Oklahoma State on Saturday perpetuated the notion that the Longhorns have failed to pay attention to detail under Strong.

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When the LSU Tigers fired Les Miles in September, Feldman reported one of the fears among those inside the program was that Miles would have it "keep going in circles" if he stayed on.

In a sense, that may have been a concern for Perrin and his colleagues; Texas would continue to be respectable under Strong but not make the leap to being a national title contender again.

Below is a look at where the Longhorns ranked in total offense and defense, in addition to Football Outsiders' S&P+ ratings, during Strong's three years:

Season	Total Offense	Total Defense	S&P+ Rating (Percentile)	S&P+ Offense	S&P+ Defense
2014	337.3 YPG (113th)	348.3 YPG (27th)	80.5% (33rd)	26.4 (80th)	16.3 (7th)
2015	370.5 YPG (92nd)	452.6 YPG (108th)	44.8% (72nd)	28.1 (73rd)	28.4 (68th)
2016	498.9 YPG (17th)	444.7 YPG (97th)	66.6% (47th)	35.2 (32nd)	29.4 (66th)

Hiring the right replacement for Strong will be pivotal for Texas. The Longhorns have one of the richest athletic departments in the country, but money alone can't get them back among the elite teams.

And another poor coaching hire will further the stagnation, potentially causing significant long-term damage. No program is too big to fail in college football, with Notre Dame, Miami, Florida and Nebraska among those struggling to reach the heights of their glory days.

Of course, Michigan is an example of how the right coach can reinvigorate a sleeping giant. Even the most ardent Wolverines fans are likely surprised with how quickly Jim Harbaugh has the team in the national title discussion again.

Because of its historical stature and financial might, Texas should be able to lure in an attractive coaching candidate.

Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman will be atop the wish list of many fans, but the Longhorns will have a lot of competition to lure him away from his current post.

USA Today's Dan Wolken tweeted Texas is his preferred destination:

If Texas is unable to land Herman, then the Longhorns' search will get interesting.

Art Briles is without a job, and he has plenty of experience in the state from his days with the Cougars and Baylor Bears. The circumstances of his departure from Baylor may sour the Longhorns on the prospect of hiring him, though.

Maybe Texas will even make another run at Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban. As the New York Times' Monte Burke reported in 2015, Texas wanted Saban in 2012.

Strong wasn't a failure as the head coach at Texas, but his reign proved disappointing following his successful four-year run with the Louisville Cardinals, which included seasons of 11-2 and 12-1 in 2012 and 2013.

Now, Perrin is under immense pressure to make the right hire and ensure the program's recent malaise doesn't turn into a full-blown decline.