Strong makes move, answers questions about defense

AUSTIN — Charlie Strong will coach Texas’ beleaguered defense the rest of the season now that coordinator Vance Bedford has been demoted, the head coach affirmed Monday.

The declaration comes just one week after Strong said another staff shakeup would not help the team.

“I just think, at this time, right now, we need to do this,” Strong said, before adding, “At the end of the day, you’ve got to do what’s right for the program.”

What a difference a day makes, and the 49-31 embarrassment at Oklahoma State was one of those days. Strong knows he can’t have any more like them. Saturday’s defensive debacle marked the 10th time in 29 games that Texas has lost by 18+ points under Strong.

Bedford will now coach the secondary alongside assistant Clay Jennings. Strong has now dismissed/demoted eight assistants in just 2 ¼ seasons.

“I don’t think this is desperate measures,” Strong said. “I’ve talked with Vance and the defensive staff, and they understand it. It’s not a matter of desperation as it is (them saying), ‘Hey. Coach. You’ve got to go do it’. I know this: I’ve done it before. I know where I can help us. Sometimes you have to bring new energy to some of these guys. I’m just hoping this will be a good move for them, and it will be.”

Bedford’s demotion comes on the heels of two straight losses in which the defense was shredded for 99 points (106 actually).The 2015 defense was, statistically, the worst in program history. Now, Texas is on pace to shatter the school record for points-allowed after yielding 38.5 ppg in four outings.

Maybe it was a morbid sense of curiosity that prompted Athletic Director Mike Perrin to attend a Monday press conference for the first time this season, or maybe Perrin wanted to make sure Strong stuck to the script. The reason, apparently, had nothing to do with offering Strong the level of support that Perrin extended last. That kind of assurance has yet to emerge, Strong acknowledged.

“I guess he’s making sure I’m okay,” was Strong’s attempt at gallows humor. “I haven’t jumped off the stadium yet.”

The defense, however, has careened over a cliff like Thelma and Louise.

The defensive demises, and the latest spin of Texas’ coaching carousel, was so distracting that reporters asked just two questions about Saturday’s opponent who just happens to be…umm, hang on…let me check the schedule…oh, yeah…Oklahoma.

Last season’s upset of the Sooners was (briefly) dubbed as Strong’s signature win, but the program has gone 5-5 since then.

“I go back to that game all the time,” Strong said, “because that could have been the turning point right there. It takes one game to turn your program. Now, we’re at a point where we know how to handle (a big win).”

Upon further review, the 50-47 double-overtime season-opening against Notre Dame wasn’t a “big win”; it was Fool’s Gold. It marks the only matchup this season where a coordinator at both schools have either been dismissed or demoted. The 2015 season-ending win at Baylor came against a fourth-team QB, and the programs remains at .500 since then. Whatever evidence that Texas can now handle prosperity has yet to manifest itself on the field.

That’s why Strong is now fielding questions about his own job security. The perception, Strong was bluntly told, is that he mismanages his staff and that his team is disorganized.

“When you talk about not being organized, I’d like to know what question they’d like to ask me. We know what’s happening. With the staff, changes are going to be made.”

Strong was asked why anyone should believe his vow to “fix” the problem when he’s made those kind of promises for more than two years. Strong said he “would hope” fans would believe him but, frankly, it’s a promise Mack Brown made during each of his last four years on the job. It means that players who have been with the program for at least four years are, again, hearing question about the head coach’s job status. As such, Strong has already instructed the Horns to “go play and let me handle everything else. It doesn’t matter because what’s going to be said is going to be said. We were in a similar position last year, and we went through the same thing last season.”

It’s just that last season was a 5-7 season.

The problems have nothing to do with talent, Strong continues to insist, and he tried to double-down on that message during Sunday’s team meeting. That’s when he presented the remainder of the 2016 schedule and, team-by-team, told players that the only program that matches Texas’ talent level is the one it faces Saturday in the Cotton Bowl.

Strong was wise to not similarly assess the levels of coaching of each program. If the problems are continually listed in terms of missed tackles, miscommunication, improper alignment, gap integrity, mistrust, or even trying too hard, it harkens back to oldest of football adages: it all comes back to coaching.

Now, Strong is going to go back to the one thing he does best: calling a defense.

“Play-calling is a rhythm. You’ve got to get in rhythm, and you’ve got to try to keep people off-balance, especially against the really good offenses in our conference…What’s hurting us right now is we’re not tackling well and we’re not getting turnovers. When you get turnovers, you’re limiting possessions for the other offense. That’s what we’re not doing right now.”

Inquiring minds want to know: what practical difference can Strong make with the defense?

Strong’s response had more to do with the intangibles.

“It’s not so much that you have to go in and make a big change. Sometimes when they hear a different voice, and they hear me all the time, and now it’s like, ‘Here he comes, he’s going to run the defense’, and they know I’ve run the defense before. You’re trying to give them a shot of energy and give them some confidence. If you have confidence, you can start believing you can do it. I could put in a scheme right now, and they would all be fired-up, because they’re thinking ‘This is for me. I’ve got a chance to go make a play.’”

I’m not superstitious, but I’m beginning to wonder who at Belmont Hall broke a mirror: it’s been seven years of bad football in Austin.

If there’s a silver lining, other than RB D’Onta Foreman is expected to play Saturday, it would be found in Strong’s closing statement. The only other time he coached a defense this bad was the season before Florida won the 2008 NC. There’s little question that Texas has the playmakers to still be in the mix for the Big 12 title, and there was little question entering the season that the Longhorns are a year away.

The biggest question, now, is who will be head coach at The University of Texas come January.