GAINESVILLE -- Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong will be introduced as the new head coach of the Louisville Cardinals on either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning, the Miami Herald has learned.
According to a team source, Strong has accepted an offer and all that remains is a formal meeting of the Louisville Board of Trustees to approve the hire. According to ESPN.com, that meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Strong was Louisville's top choice to replace fired coach Steve Kragthorpe.
Strong was the Gators' top recruiter and his familiarity with the region will be missed. It's unclear whether or not Strong will attempt to hire UF recruiting coordinator Billy Gonzales as Louisville's offensive coordinator, as has been rumored on message boards. Gonzales is the Gators wide receiver coach and well respected throughout the industry. He recruits Palm Beach and Broward counties.
The loss of Strong is another blow to the stability of the Gators' coaching staff. Meyer lost his offensive coordinator last season as well as his tight ends coach. After the 2007 season, Meyer had to replace assistant Doc Holliday (West Virginia assistant head coach), a longtime recruiter of South Florida, and defensive line coach Greg Mattison, who is now the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.
-jo-
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Posted by: emilio | December 08, 2009 at 07:58 PM
YEAH BUDDY
Posted by: emilio | December 08, 2009 at 07:58 PM
Strong will be missed, good defensive mind."
Posted by: Jpuck04 | December 08, 2009 at 08:04 PM
Good for Charlie - he's been passed over far too many times for lesser qualified coaches. He was long overdue. Best of luck and thank you for not going to another SEC team that we play against (Spurrier, Mullen, etc.)
Posted by: Big Slap Shot Bob | December 08, 2009 at 08:23 PM
Good luck Charlie . . . glad you're in the Big East and not the SEC.
Posted by: Floridan | December 08, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Yeah good to see that UF is on the decline too! Congrats strong!
Posted by: DA []_ _[] is back! | December 08, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Congrats to Charlie, he deserves it.
Posted by: miaminative | December 08, 2009 at 10:49 PM
You all saw what happened when you lost your offensive coordinator this year (stagnation and no imagination(c teabag run)).
ALABAMA chewed up your defense that had returned all 11 starters.
Now, just imagine your defense next year with no charlie 'WEAK', no brandon 'eye gouger' spikes, and no carlos 'frank the tank' dunlap.
Central Florida is on line 1, FAU is on line 2, wanting to schedule a game, and Charleston Southern is on line 3 wanting a rematch with u cry babies.
Posted by: jeremy 'cream puff schedule' fooley.. | December 09, 2009 at 06:28 AM
Hey Jo, wipe that crap!
Posted by: Alan M. | December 09, 2009 at 06:30 AM
NOT LOOKING GOOD! HA! HA HA! HAHAHAHA!
Posted by: sidcane | December 09, 2009 at 08:55 AM
Losing Strong is a big hit, but losing Billy Gonzales would be even worse. Strong is the backbone of the D and the finisher in recruiting, but Gonzales is the one who brings the recruits to Florida. It will be tought to overcome this but hopefully Urban has persons in mind.
Posted by: Gatorroll | December 09, 2009 at 09:34 AM
Congrats and good luck to Charlie...I don't think it will be hard to attract a suitable replacement at UF. We have a strong base of current and in coming athletes to help rebuild the defense with a head coach who really focuses on D
Posted by: movers | December 09, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Good luck to Charlie. Gators will be fine without him. All you stupid cane "fans" out there realize when we lose coordinators it's because we are very good and other teams want some of what we have. When you lose coordinators it's because you suck badly and they are FIRED for a lousy job and to cover up for a recruiter turned coach who is mediocre.
Posted by: THE305 | December 09, 2009 at 10:34 AM
305 , it's because they are going down hill.Strong knows it and anyone with brains is going with him.
Posted by: sidcane | December 09, 2009 at 06:05 PM
Stop hatin. Jeremy. Cream puff
Posted by: UFsorrells | December 14, 2009 at 09:11 PM