Report: Charlie Strong to Join Nick Saban's Alabama Staff as Defensive Analyst

Former Louisville, Texas and South Florida head football coach Charlie Strong is reportedly joining Nick Saban's coaching staff at Alabama.

According to ESPN's Chris Low, Strong will serve as a defensive analyst under Saban.

Strong was fired from his post at South Florida following a 4-8 finish last season, but he will look to follow in the footsteps of many other former head coaches by rebuilding his resume and credibility as part of a winning program at Alabama.

The 59-year-old Strong has led the way at some big-time programs with mixed results. He had three seasons with double-digit wins between his stops at Louisville and South Florida, but he is probably best known for his failures at Texas.

Strong went just 16-21 in three seasons with the Longhorns, reaching a bowl game only once and never finishing with a winning record.

Overall, Strong owns a 74-53 record as a head coach with eight bowl appearances and four bowl wins, including a victory in the 2013 Sugar Bowl with Louisville over Florida.

Aside from his head coaching stints, Strong enjoyed success as a defensive coordinator at South Carolina and Florida, so giving him an opportunity to contribute to the defensive side of the ball at Alabama looks like a smart move on paper by Saban.

In recent years, Saban has made several former head coaches members of his staff, including Butch Jones, Mike Locksley, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian.

Jones and Sarkisian are still on the staff, while Locksley has gone on to become head coach at Maryland and Kiffin is now the head coach at Ole Miss.

There isn't much bad that can come from joining a program that is 150-17 with five national championships over the past 12 seasons, so perhaps a brief stop in Tuscaloosa can help lead Strong to his next head coaching job.