Strong Makes a Big Statement By Staying at Louisville

quote:

---

"No, I would not have imagined it," Strong

said Thursday morning during a news conference

to announce he was doing just that. "But I could

never imagine I would have a great job like I

have now also." Strong was offered the Tennessee

job on Tuesday and thought long and hard about it

on Wednesday, he said. In the end, the decision

came down to the loyalty shown to him by

Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich and the

Cardinals community, he said. "We were 2-4 (last

year), and I was 9-10 at the time (overall), and

the guy hands me an extension," Strong said. "I

am like, 'How do you walk away from someone who

really trusts and believes in you?' It's about

relationship and people believing in you and

trusting in you. "As I talked to my family, it

became crystal clear to me that I needed to stay

at the University of Louisville," Strong said.

Tennessee first approached Strong on Friday

through a phone call the day after his team

rallied to beat Rutgers. He met with a Tennessee

official on Monday and received an official offer

on Tuesday. The lure of coaching in the SEC was

very, very strong, he said. "You say, 'I can go

beat this team, I can go beat this team,'" he

said. "You let your ego get in the way, but you

realize it's about people and how you affect

their lives. Leading to me is not about telling

people what to do. It's about serving others.

When I thought about leaving, I kept going back

to we haven't finished the job yet. We are still

growing together. We have a lot of work to do."

Strong informed his players of his decision late

Wednesday. "I said, 'When we talk to you we

always talk about trust, and we talk about being

committed," he said. "A lot of you guys grew up

without a father figure and a lot of people

walked out of your life. Now you are looking at

me and saying, 'Coach, you might do the same

thing.' I couldn't do that to them." Strong and

Jurich have spoken about a new contract for him

at Louisville but not in detail, he said. "I

want to make sure my assistant coaches are taken

care of," he said. "I am fine." Strong hopes his

commitment to the program will convince more

people in the community to back the Cardinals,

who will play in the Sugar Bowl next month. "I

guarantee you probably 80 percent of the

community thought we were walking out of here,"

he said. "I wanted the community to understand

that we have an outstanding program here so now

let's start backing this program. We are just

scratching the surface." Strong, who is nearing

the end of his third year, said he hopes not to

have to deal with this kind of situation every

year. "I just hate what I put our players

through," he said. "I did not want much attention

on myself."

---