Charlie Strong to Texas ...

I think those two terms are probably mutually exclusive. If a guy is not a "big name" already, by definition he can't be a "big splash" hire.

However, when Urban Meyer got the Florida job, he was definitely the hottest name in college coaching.

 

If Briles balked for an interview. If I'm the guy hiring at Texas, that tells me Briles might not be the easiest guy to work with.

I don't care if you go 54-3 at Baylor over four years, you still have to show up in Austin and meet people. Part of the process, especially at a public university that has to be far more transparent than a private school.

However, I never thought we'd see the day where Texas is looking to pull coaches from Baylor, Vanderbilt or Louisville for their head coaching position.

On another note, there's a motorcycle-loving coach in the foothills of Kentucky pondering whether he can get the Louisville job...

 

Seems like a pretty arrogant move by Briles. Seriously, he isn't Saban. Only a handful of guys in the country rise to the level of getting a job like Texas without an interview of some sort, and I don't think Briles is on that list.

 

My guess...

Briles wants the consideration for the Texas job for his own ego ("If I wouldn't coach at Texas, I won't leave Baylor while your son is here!") but knows, deep in his heart, that he would flame out in Austin under the pressure. Baylor will probably never fire Briles but he probably doesn't think he has the stones for such a visible job like UT -- and that's okay, too. He should have simply had his agent cut off any Texas chatter two weeks ago.

Sometimes the best moves are the ones not made.

The cliché often goes to "never follow a legend", which may be why Texas is not landing a Saban or other living coach with a statue on his campus. Yet Texas is still Texas - with so many advantages - that I cannot imagine why a coach wouldn't want the job.

(There's still a part of me waiting to see Saban do a hook 'em horns at a press conference any day now - the timing would be perfect after Alabama's flame-out the other night).

 

But if he goes for an interview and does not get the job, it weakens his standing
at Baylor. I think it was a smart move on Briles part.

 

That's where his agent and the UT reps would come to some sort of informal agreement, as in, "if you come down here to interview, it's your job to lose". Perhaps his agent said, "right now, you'd be their third choice after Strong and Mora," and Briles decided not to interview. (This is actually quite common as a major element of an agent's job is to find the information for his client that the person hiring will not tell his client face-to-face or person-to-person).

 

Good grief. How many times does someone have to say something before these people move on? Saban IS NOT going to coach at Texas. Been over that dozens of times.

 

Does anyone get offered a job without even doing an interview? Never heard of that in any business.

 

Sure, all the time... Usually it's when the parties are familiar with each other. Stoops was offered the Florida job without interviewing. I don't think Meyer every formally interviewed at Florida either.

 

Happened to me eight years ago.

Old boss I worked for called me up as he needed someone he could trust and who knew the area. I wasn't hired on the spot and had to write a formal letter, explaining my news philosophy, so he could push it through with his boss but I didn't have to go interview and meet people as I was already a known commodity there.

 

I like the Strong hire, but I get that a lot of people aren't that excited about it.

He seems like a backup or a safe choice after so many coaches said no. They also didn't have to pay the kind of crazy money it would have taken to get Fisher or maybe Briles or a NFL coach.

Texas couldn't risk waiting for Fisher. If he turned them down, more than likely by then Strong would have either taken his name out of consideration or would have seemed like even more of a backup choice than he already does.

 

Chad Morris would be a pretty good Louisville hire.