Texas football coach Charlie Strong is expected to be fired sometime this week, but conflicting reports cast some uncertainty over exactly when that will be.
Sunday morning, ESPN.com first reported "extreme pressure" from Texas boosters would lead to Strong losing his job after the Longhorns’ final regular-season game, Friday against TCU. But UT officials have arrived at a decision, according to an Austin American-Statesman report, and are expected to make the announcement as soon as Monday morning.
"It will happen for sure. The question is when," an anonymous source told the Statesman.
MORE: Texas needs to replace Charlie Strong ASAP
Multiple reports have said Strong will see be on the sideline against TCU while others say he will be gone as early as Monday. Regardless of timing, the consensus is that Texas’ 24-21 overtime loss at Kansas on Saturday sealed his fate. And it didn't help that Houston upset No. 5 Louisville on Thursday.
The Jayhawks had not beaten the Longhorns since 1938, and their win on Saturday snapped a 19-game losing streak in the Big 12 and a 23-game losing streak against BCS opponents. Texas was a 24-point favorite.
Houston’s win over Louisville factors into Texas’ decision regarding Strong because it raised the cachet of Cougars coach Tom Herman. Herman has long been on Texas boosters’ wish list, and ESPN reports UT administration is under "extreme pressure" from the boosters to hire him. Herman will be high demand, so if Texas wants him, it better make a move soon.
"I do not see how he can survive," a source said of Strong after the loss to Kansas, per ESPN.com. "He has been given every chance to succeed. Everyone wanted him to."
Texas is 16-20 in Strong’s three seasons. His .444 win percentage is the lowest in school history, and the Longhorns have to beat TCU for bowl eligibility. They haven’t won more than six games under Strong and have made it to just one bowl game, in 2014 when they were beaten handily by Arkansas, 31-7.
While Texas president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin support Strong, a source told the Dallas News after Saturday’s loss, “Now they have little choice (but to fire him).”
Texas will owe Strong a buyout of about $11 million should the university fire him, and his assistants also have guaranteed contracts. Those accounts payable will not prevent Texas from showing Strong the door.
"Lots of dollars for everyone ... but it isn’t enough to save Charlie," the Dallas News’ source said.
On SportsCenter Sunday morning, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum offered this perspective: "That seems like a lot of money for most schools; for Texas, that’s tip money."