Daily Round Up: Texas Has A Cultural Problem

Where did the Charlie Strong experiment go wrong? “Even a quick glance at the resume shows a whole lot to like. A former coordinator under Urban Meyer. A national championship ring as part of Meyer’s staff. Taking a struggling program and turning it quickly into one capable of competing with established powers. A remarkable knack for developing and bonding with players.”

Texas has a cultural problem. “They were just anti-Charlie Strong from the get-go and that's the issue. That's the issue. But I got to tell you, from the moment (billionaire booster) Red McCombs had to reel in his statements about the hiring of Charlie Strong, you could see that there was a cultural problem he was going to have to face in the time that he was there. There's no getting around that,” Brando said.

Tom Herman is just another Texas coach to Gary Patterson. “He’ll be the third head coach they’ve had down at Texas,” Patterson said. “We’ve had five at (Texas) A&M, four or five at (Texas) Tech, … five at Baylor. It’s the next guy you have to go compete against.

The men’s basketball team is back home and ready for new challenges. “During his week of practice, Smart has narrowed down what he needs to see on the court — better defensive rebounding, moving the basketball more on offense, tougher defense. Texas practices well, Smart said, but that just needs to carry over.”

The basketball team’s flaws are showing. “If one thing has been clear this season, it’s that Texas severely misses having a true point guard. After losing Isaiah Taylor last season to professional basketball, the Longhorns have mainly tried sophomore Kerwin Roach and freshman Andrew Jones in the position. Both have showed limited promise, but neither has been able to fit the mold Texas needs.”

How an athletic program handles hirings and firings says a lot about who they are as an institution. “At Texas, public support and the wishes of the locker room failed to sway the decision of the administration to fire a coach.”

The life of a college football coach is dysfunctional hell. “These anecdotes and so many more offered by the coaches interviewed show a world in which coaches are faced with a desperate decision within the first weeks of their tenure: Do you choose your players—and build your program—the right way? Or do you do what you need to do to win now, bending the recruiting rules and/or choosing and potentially enabling players with character problems?”

Give Chad Morris credit; he didn’t want anything to do with the disaster known as the Baylor football program. The Bears are now focusing on Cal’s Sonny Dykes.

Need something to do this weekend? It’s a busy weekend on the 40 Acres!