Texas Longhorns' Coaching Hire Among Worst This Century

Steve Sarkisian has brought the Texas Longhorns back to national prominence over the past few years, taking them to the College Football Playoff semifinals in each of the past two seasons.

Before his arrival, however, the program was in its modern dark age, and their coaches during that time took a lot of heat from fans and the media.

The first of those coaches was Charlie Strong, who led the Longhorns to a 16-21 record from 2014-16 with just one bowl game appearance and no winning seasons. The hire made sense at the time, as Strong had led Louisville to a 23-3 record over the previous two seasons with two top-15 finishes, but it sadly didn't work out, and even that is an understatement.

Texas Longhorns' Charlie Strong Hire Quickly Became a Disaster

When ranking the top 25 worst head coaching hires of the 21st Century, CBS Sports' John Taulty ranked the Longhorns' hire of Strong at No. 20, quite the indictment indeed.

"The initial hire made sense on paper after Strong took Louisville to a Sugar Bowl and back-to-back top 15 finishes. But Strong couldn't capitalize on what could be the best job in the country with every advantage and resource at his disposal," Taulty wrote. "Strong lost at least seven games in each of his three seasons at Texas, with the worst coming in an overtime loss that sealed his fate to a 2-10 Kansas team that had lost 19 consecutive games to Big 12 opponents.

"With the way Steve Sarkisian has Texas rolling right now, it's still hard to believe it got that bad under Strong."

The Longhorns had some good moments under strong - such as upset wins over Oklahoma in 2015 and Notre Dame in 2016, the latter of which spawned the infamous "Texas is back" meme. As a whole, however, his tenure was a colossal disappointment.

Strong, 64, landed on his feet shortly after with South Florida, and led the Bulls to a 10-2 record in his first season. Unfortunately, the Bulls declined over the following two seasons, and he was fired following a 4-8 finish in 2019. He's now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive line coach.

While the Strong era was a disappointment for the Longhorns, they have at least rebounded nicely under Sarkisian, and have become a true national championship contender once again.