The USF Bulls make the right moves to go to the next level with Charlie Strong
The hiring of former Texas head coach Charlie Strong by USF to replace Willie Taggart was the single best thing the USF Bulls have done since they started the program twenty years ago. Credit has to go to USF President Judy Genshaft and athletic director Mark Harlan who identified Strong as their man, then closed the deal in four days starting on Thursday with his accepting the position Sunday morning.
Coming off a season with a 10-2 record and a showdown in the Birmingham Bowl with South Carolina this is great news. Willie Taggart got things moving and now Charlie Strong will take it even higher.
Must Read: Charlie Strong takes the USF job
Strong has been one of the top recruiter in the Sunshine State for over 20 years, for former Gators coaches Steve Spurrier, Ron Zook and Urban Meyer. He was the chief recruiter for South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz, then he mined the state as the head coach at Louisville and most recently as the main man at the University of Texas.
Over the past 20 years no assistant or head coach has hand more Top 20 Recruiting classes than did Strong. At 56, Strong should bring stability to USF football and he is at an age where he is still young but not so young that he will stay as the Bulls head coach for a couple years only to leave for another Power 5 conference job.
He can use the USF Bulls to set up a power team that can win the AAC for the next five years and a consistent team ready get that New Year’s Day Bowl that goes to the best non Power 5 conference team. With the growing strength of the of the AAC they could make it a Power 6 conference in five years and Strong along USF could help that goal.
Must Read: Fans react to the hiring of Charlie Strong
This is the best thing that could happen to the USF Bulls since they started playing football 20 years ago. Meanwhile the fans were happy to see the hire and that means bigger crowds at Bulls games in 2017 and years to come.