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Himmelsbach | Enjoying Strong's failure?

Adam Himmelsbach
ahimmelsbach@courier-journal.com

On Saturday, Louisville crushed Murray State and Kentucky defeated Ohio, but one other result seemed to resonate in this city almost as much as those two: Brigham Young 41, Texas 7.

It was Charlie Strong's first loss as head coach of the Longhorns. It was at home. It was ugly.

"It's an embarrassment," Strong said afterward. "It's an embarrassment to this program. It's an embarrassment to this university."

And for some people around Louisville, it seemed, it was a source of delight.

Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong reacts against the Brigham Young Cougars during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. BYU beat Texas 41-7. Sep 6, 2014; Austin, TX

I understand this is not a phenomenon unique to this school or this region. When successful coaches decide to leave and coach somewhere else, it stings the supporters who were left behind. That makes sense.

Still, the celebratory tenor raises questions about the act of rooting for a person to fail. Particularly in this case, where the original offending action was simply moving on to a new opportunity. (It is worth pointing out that much of the giddiness appeared on Twitter, which is probably not an accurate reflection of society as a whole. Nevertheless, here we are.)

Anyway, Charlie Strong was a model citizen during his time here. He reformed UofL's football program, had great success and brought in immensely talented players. If there was no Charlie Strong, there would probably be no DeVante Parker, no Charles Gaines, no Dominique Brown and no Lorenzo Mauldin on this UofL team.

And I know plenty of fans realize all of that and truly have no ill-will toward Strong. I also know some others still feel hurt that he left, and that's fair. I just don't see what's gained by hoping for a coach to crash, especially after he did so much to elevate a university.

Is it so he might think he made the wrong choice? Is it because you feel jilted?

A few losses at Texas would not make Strong regret his decision to leave, just as a few losses at Louisville wouldn't affirm that he made the right call. Also, like it or not, Texas is one of the five best coaching jobs in college football, regardless of its current downturn.

Yes, Louisville is certainly ascending, but it's not at the Longhorns' level. It does not have its own television network or a 100,000-seat stadium, and it does not sit in the most football-crazed state in the nation.

And that's not a knock on Louisville; it's an acknowledgment of UT. If a basketball coach left a top 25-caliber basketball team like Iowa State to come to Louisville, it would make sense because UofL's program, as a whole, is on another level. This is similar.

But I guarantee Strong still wants his former UofL players to succeed. Even after he left, he was so proud when three Cardinals were taken in the first round of the NFL draft and so proud when the team's perfect Academic Progress Rate score was released.

Does he have any regrets about departing? It's possible, but I don't think so. I think he is eager to tackle the challenge of rebuilding another program that desperately needs a foundation.

So far, he has dismissed seven Texas players and suspended four others. Scuffling football programs are rarely fixed quickly. It will take time. Strong is clearly in the midst of changing the culture in Austin, just as he did here. And I just don't think reveling in his failures along the way is an especially noble pursuit.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at 502-582-4372 by email ahimmelsbach@courier-journal.com and on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.