Texas Longhorns

Texas is reportedly 'very close' to moving on from Charlie Strong

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:30 p.m. ET

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One month ago, Texas players carried Charlie Strong off the field after a double-overtime victory against Notre Dame. The upset kicked off Strong's third season in Austin with a signature win and appeared to secure his future with the Longhorns.

A month later, Strong finds himself in a perilous situation for his future at Texas. A high-ranking Texas official said on Sunday night that Strong is "very close" to losing his job at the end of the season after back-to-back road losses to Cal and Oklahoma State. The official said that there will be no move made during the year on Strong. Part of that comes from the fact that there's no logical candidate on the staff to take over the program.

An announcement is also expected as soon as Monday that defensive coordinator Vance Bedford will be demoted after the Longhorns have given up 99 points the past two games. Strong is expected to take over play calling duties.

Strong is 13–16 overall in his third year in Austin. 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 Mack 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.

With Strong expected to be gone at the end of this season, the stage is set for one of the most robust coaching carousels in the past decade. There's an expectation that jobs could open at Texas, Auburn, USC and Oregon to join the opening at LSU. (There's still a chance Penn State could move on James Franklin, but athletic director Sandy Barbour made definitive statements to the Altoona Mirror this week that Franklin "is not on the hot seat" and "is going to be our football coach.")

The prospect of five major job openings presents a fascinating next two months in college football. The most puzzling question on the landscape will be who could fill all the high-profile jobs, as there appears to be a lack of candidates qualified to fill positions of that caliber. "There's not five coaches out there that are good enough to fill those jobs with the expectations those schools are going to have," said an industry source.

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