Which six words undoubtedly flooded Charlie Strong's social media notifications after Saturday's 24-21 loss at Kansas State?
Hot seat. Unemployed. Fired. Bye, bye.
About a thousand variations of those words on social media tied those words to Strong after the loss the Wildcats, which dropped the Longhorns to 3-4 and Strong to 14-18 since taking over in 2014. Texas had more than handful of opportunities to take advantage of three Kansas State turnovers, but the Longhorns never cashed in.
MORE: Mid-term grades for SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12 coaches
Now, the watch is on to see when they cash out. Three weeks ago, SI.com reported Strong was “very close” to being out at Texas. It could come after the season. It could come after next week’s game against Baylor. It could come tomorrow. Nobody will be surprised if/when Strong is let go. All that’s made Texas’ games on the field secondary. That’s the pitfall of an eternal hot-seat setup .
Never mind that Kansas State ran 46 plays in the first half . Never mind that Texas had a chance to cut into a 21-7 lead in the third quarter when Dorian Leonard dropped a pass on fourth-and-3. Never mind Texas missed a field goal in the fourth that would’ve made a one-score game with 4:03 remaining.
We’re not done. Never mind that quarterback Shane Buechele is the perfect quarterback for the Longhorns to build around the next two seasons, and the defense should get better with another year. Never mind that Texas’ toughest games left are at home against Baylor, West Virginia and TCU. Never mind anything else that Strong does or does not do on the field.
MORE: SN picks our mid-season All-Americans
Strong’s time at Texas appears to be running short. Take, for instance, his athletic director's word (or lack thereof).
Mike Perrin surrounded by reporters, says "No comment."
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) October 22, 2016
It doesn’t do any good to run down all the reasons why Strong never had a chance or didn’t fit to begin with. If the Longhorns give Strong more time next season, then we’ll be doing this all over again.
For perspective on how that goes, go back to Brady Hoke’s fourth season at Michigan. Or Al Golden’s fifth season at Miami. They were disasters. Everybody already had their mind made up going in. That’s where we’re at now.
Texas games have become processions, marching toward the inevitable. Strong’s days are close to being over, and we’ll move on to a list of candidates that includes Tom Herman, Chip Kelly, Les Miles and whoever else the Longhorns can dream up. Strong will get a fresh start somewhere else, and he’ll probably do well.
Hot seat. Fired. Unemployed. Bye, bye.
MORE: Where will Tom Herman coach next season?
Each Texas loss moves us one step closer from the beginning to the end of those six words.
At this point, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for everybody to move on.
