Texas AD Mike Perrin: No "magic number" of wins for Charlie Strong to stay

At the Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship in Kansas City on Thursday, Texas Longhorns athletic director Mike Perrin addressed the job security of head coach Charlie Strong amid speculation that Strong needs to reach a certain threshold of wins in order to receive a fourth season at the helm of the football program.

"I don't have a magic number (of wins) for you to survive," Perrin told reporters.

Instead, it seems that Perrin will take a more holistic approach in order to support Strong and ensure that the evaluation of the third-year head coach looks at the overall trajectory of the program. In other words, it's about the process rather than the results for a team that needs to improve, in Strong's own words, but still has to face a tough non-conference schedule and won't have a bye week after the conference season begins.

Calling Strong a "great man and a great coach," Perrin also addressed (or declined to address) other pressing issues, including how long he will remain on the job. Originally hired last September as the interim athletic director, Perrin had the interim label removed during football season and is now under contract through 2018. As for the length of his term, he said that he serves at the pleasure of university president Greg Fenves.

"I have no interest leaving the job until it's finished," Perrin said.

What that means isn't entirely clear, but if it means seeing through the funding and construction of the new basketball arena and other various projects that will be necessary in the next few years, Perrin could helm the athletic department for some time.

The other major topic at this time? The future of the Big 12 Conference regarding expansion and the potential dissolution of the Longhorn Network in order to bundle the third-tier rights of member institutions so that the Longhorns aren't the only school collecting significant revenue from those rights.

Perrin declined comment on both accounts.