Strong is in the third year of a five-year contract that pays him more than $5 million per year. “I’ve been looking forward to an opportunity like this for a long time, and we’re finally here”.
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Texas coach Charlie Strong announced Saturday that offensive line coach Joe Wickline, a former Oklahoma State assistant, and former offensive coordinator Shawn Watson have been fired.
It might not also be a coincidence that this reaffirmation came on the same day it was revealed that the search for an offensive coordinator had only gotten worse, as Tulsa offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert had turned the job down. He gets a three-year contract worth $550,000 per year. The Austin American-Statesman expects Gilbert’s hiring to be announced by UT on Friday.
Fenves tweeted a message of strong support for the head coach, then boarded the plane with Perrin and Strong.
University of Texas President is trying to assure fans he supports football coach Charlie Strong after a second offensive coordinator candidate reportedly spurned a chance to join the Longhorns. And yes, before you ask, it was captured on camera.
Fenves led an incredibly high-profile UT delegation that included Strong and athletic director Mike Perrin on a flight Friday to Tulsa, a source familiar with the process said.
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So after seemingly declining the Longhorns’ offer initially, Gilbert is headed to Austin to help turn around an offense that was ranked 93rd in total offense (compared to 14th for the Golden Hurricane) and 117th in passing offense (11th for Tulsa) just one season ago.
