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Racism Stalls Strong's Rise To The Top

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By JOE HENDERSON

jhenderson@tampatrib.com

Published: January 10, 2009

MIAMI - Charlie Strong probably should have been hired away from the University of Florida long before now, tapped by another school to lead its football program to the same mountaintop the Gators now occupy. He should be a head coach, and everybody knows it.

Well, just about everybody.

No one official comes right out and says it, but Strong, who is black, hears things. He believes he knows why the call to lead a program has never come. During media day earlier this week at the BCS Championship Game, Strong said he gets passed over because he is married to a white woman.

Well, it's as good an explanation as any, because there's no way on merit that Strong shouldn't get his chance. There are only seven African-American head coaches among the 119 top football schools in the country anyway. No one can really pretend these issues don't exist.

It's a fresh topic now because Strong came up with the plan to stop Oklahoma's unstoppable offense, a unit that had cranked out an NCAA record for points this season behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford.

Florida's 24-14 victory over the Sooners on Thursday gave them a second national title in three years and put Coach Urban Meyer on the bully pulpit to champion the cause of his defensive coordinator and his friend.

"I'm going to tell you again that that's one of the finest coaches in America. Just how important that is, put that right up there, and I'm going to say something else: A great husband and a great father and a great person, as good a guy as I've ever been around," Meyer said Friday morning.

"He was my neighbor in South Bend, Ind. I trust him with everything. I trust him with my family. I trust him with everything."

The Only Explanation

You'd certainly like to believe that in 2009 we're past all this stuff, especially with what's about to happen 10 days from now in Washington, D.C. I guess we all know better, though.

Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, who is white, left after this game to assume his new job as head coach at Mississippi State. That's the way it works with top programs; assistants move on. No one is remotely suggesting that Mullen is anything but qualified for this opportunity. But so is Charlie Strong.

Oklahoma hadn't scored fewer than 35 points in a game this season until Thursday night. The Sooners had been over 60 points in five consecutive games. But Strong's young defense swarmed all over Bradford, sacking him twice and intercepting two passes.

Twice, they stopped Oklahoma inside the 6-yard line - once on downs, once on an interception. Strong came up with the plan and his players executed it flawlessly.

"He continues to prove he's one of the greatest football coaches in the country right now," Meyer said. "Excellent recruiter, even a better husband and father, and my right-hand man. There's no better coach in the country than Coach Strong, what he did and what that staff did."

Bug In Their Ears

Strong has paid his dues.

He is 48 years old with 25 years of coaching experience. He has been at big programs - Notre Dame, South Carolina, besides Florida. He has been a defensive coordinator for the past six seasons at Florida, so he has two national championship rings. He had the same job for three seasons at South Carolina before that.

What else does a man have to do?

Meyer could look the other way in hopes of keeping his coordinator, but instead he chooses to be a fierce advocate for Strong. Somebody asked him if he ever puts a bug in someone's ear at other schools on Strong's behalf.

"I've put a lot of bugs. I've shot it at people and made it real clear. I'm not sure they listen," Meyer said.

Performances like the one Strong's defense put on against Oklahoma resonate so loudly that you'd think someone has to listen eventually. That is, if they can get past something that shouldn't be an issue in the first place.

A coach is hired to win, and to do so with integrity. So they say, anyway.

It's the only thing that should matter. Maybe one day we'll find out if that's the way it really is.

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