Texas was defeated by Kansas State on Saturday, 24-21, marking the fourth loss in five games for the Longhorns. After the game, when asked about Charlie Strong’s future with the program Texas athletic director Mike Perrin declined to answer questions on the topic.
Texas AD Mike Perrin declined to answer my questions after the loss
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) October 22, 2016
Perrin has at times supported Strong fully while at other times has been less than fully behind the head coach (more on that here).
It’s worth pointing out that Texas is on the hook for quite a bit of money should Strong be sent packing after the season.
$10 million: Texas buyout for Charlie Strong if he is fired at end of season
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 22, 2016
That’s one reason to not let the coach go.
That said, the Longhorns lost Saturday to the Wildcats thanks to late-game mistakes, including a missed field goal late in the fourth quarter that would have put Texas up by a touchdown. The team also failed to execute a timely two-minute drill at the end of the game.
These kind of mistakes have been commonplace for the Longhorns under Strong the past two-and-a-half years. And they could lead to his demise at Texas.
At this point, it makes no sense for the university to let Strong go in the middle of the season. That said, unless the Longhorns, now 3-4, start to seriously turn things around in the coming weeks, it’s hard to imagine he’ll remain on for another campaign.
With an upcoming schedule where the Longhorns face a wicked Big 12 gauntlet — Baylor, Texas Tech, West Virginia and TCU — it’s also hard to envision a big turnaround is in the works.