Charlie Strong
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Charlie Strong (born August 2, 1960 in Batesville, Arkansas), is a college football coach currently serving as co-defensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and linebacker position coach of the Florida Gators.
After lettering for four years (1980-83) at University of Central Arkansas, Strong joined the Gator coaching staff after college as a graduate assistant in 1983. His first full-time coaching job was at Southern Illinois in 1986, where he coached wide receivers. He later assumed defensive coaching duties at Florida and Notre Dame.
In 1999 Strong joined the South Carolina Gamecocks as defensive coordinator, becoming the first African-American coordinator in Southeastern Conference history. His stifling defenses and well-mannered personality created buzz that he would be possibly the first black head coach in the SEC, but job offers were slim[1] (Sylvester Croom eventually broke the color barrier in the SEC coaching ranks).
Strong was hired as defensive coordinator for the Gators before the 2003 season. When head coach Ron Zook took the University of Illinois coaching job with one game left in the 2004 season, Strong served as interim coach of the Gators for one game, the 2004 Peach Bowl, technically making him the second black head coach in SEC history.[2] Florida lost the game, 27-10, to the Miami Hurricanes.
[edit] Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl Game | Bowl Opponent | Outcome | Rank# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference) (2004 — 2004) | ||||||||
| 2004 | Florida | 0-1 (*) | Peach Bowl | Miami | L 10-27 | |||
| At Florida: | 0-1 | |||||||
| Career: | 0-1 | |||||||
| National Championship Conference Title | ||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. | ||||||||
(*) Charlie Strong served as the interim coach for one game. The 2004 Florida team finished 7-5 for the season. Head Coach Ron Zook was fired before the end of the season and declined to coach the bowl game.
| Preceded by Ron Zook |
University of Florida Head Football Coach 2004 (interim) |
Succeeded by Urban Meyer |
