Charlie Strong Biography

Charlie Strong made the most of his first season as a head coach after waiting 27 years for the opportunity. He led the Cardinals to a bowl game for the first time in three seasons and became the first Louisville coach to be named BIG EAST Coach of the Year. Strong guided the Cardinals to a 7-6 record, but he kept the team playing hard and consistently throughout the season. Louisville was competitive in every football game it played, losing six games by a combined score of 49 points. Strong helped the Cardinals play outstanding defense in his debut season, leading the team to a top-20 finish in total defense and a top-10 finish in sacks. Strong, perhaps the most respected defensive coach in the country, brings 27 years of collegiate coaching experience, two National Championships, and 20 bowl game appearances to the sidelines at U of L. He has also worked for three separate national championship-winning head coaches, including Florida's Urban Meyer, South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, and former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz. He has coached 13 All-Americans, a National Defensive Player of the Year, a Jack Tatum Award winner, two SEC Defensive Freshmen of the Year, two Thorpe Award finalists, two Nagurski Trophy finalists, and the 2008 Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year during his stint as head coach at Florida. He has produced seven first-round NFL Draft choices as well as 18 players picked in the third round or above. This year, the Cleveland Browns picked cornerback Joe Haden with the seventh overall choice in the NFL Draft, while Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham, and Major Wright were also selected in the first three rounds. Strong arrives to Louisville following seven seasons as the University of Florida's defensive coordinator, the past two as the Associate Head Coach. It was his fourth tenure at UF, having previously coached at Florida from 1991-94, 1988-89, and 1983-84. In 2004, he was Florida's interim head coach, and the Gators lost the Peach Bowl 27-10 against Miami. Strong led one of the nation's best defensive teams in 2009, ranking in the top five in four separate statistical categories. In leading the Gators to a 12-1 record and a trip to the SEC Championship game for the third time in Strong's tenure as defensive coordinator, UF ranked third in the nation in scoring defense (11.54 ppg), third in pass defense (151.46), fourth in total defense (253.08), and fifth in pass efficiency defense (93.91). This season, five players of his 2009 defense were named first or second team All-SEC. Strong was named a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award, which is presented to the nation's finest assistant coach, for the second year in a row, and is only the second three-time finalist in the award's history. In 2008, Strong's defense rated in the top 20 nationally in ten statistical categories, including a school-record matching 26 interceptions, which matched for the most in the country that season. UF's scoring defense improved the most from the 2007 season to the 2008 season, placing sixth in the country while allowing only 12.9 points per game. His greatest season performance came in the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma, who entered the game with the nation's top 54.0 scoring average. The Gators limited the highest-scoring offense in college football history and Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford to 14 points and 363 total yards in Florida's 24-14 victory, guiding the Gators to their second national title in three years. Strong was selected a finalist for the Broyles Award for the second time in his career in 2008 for his exceptional performance. Strong also coached a group of linebackers that featured consensus first-team All-American and repeat first-team All-SEC player Brandon Spikes, who was a Bronko Nagurski Award nominee in 2008. During his seven years as defensive coordinator at UF, the Gators intercepted 131 passes, the third-most in the country and the most in the SEC during the previous seven seasons. Strong, a relentless recruiter, was rated one of the nation's top-25 best recruiters by Rivals.com for his role in bringing in the No. 1 signing class in 2007. He also played a key role in Florida leading the SEC in running defense for the second consecutive season, allowing only 103.3 yards per game, good for 10th in the country. In 2007, he also assisted in Spikes' development into an unanimous first-team All-SEC selection. It was the first time since 1999 when a freshman or sophomore linebacker was named to the Coaches' First-Team All-SEC. In 2006, Strong was a key member of the Gator defense, which held opponents to a league-low 72.5 running yards per game. This was the second-lowest total in school history, and it was over 25 yards better than the next-best SEC club. In 2006, the Gators' run defense was fifth in the country, while their overall defense ranked sixth in the country with an average of 255.4 yards per game. Under Strong's direction, Florida set a BCS record for fewest yards allowed in a national championship game against Ohio State, allowing only 82 yards to break the previous mark by 72 yards. In 2006, three members of the UF defense were named All-America, and six players were named All-SEC. Since the 2003 season, Strong's defensive groups have allowed an average of 17.6 points per game, ranking seventh in the country over that time period, forced a mind-boggling 193 turnovers, and averaged 308.6 yards per game. Strong was the defensive coordinator at South Carolina from 1999 to 2002, and he was a contender for the Broyles Award in 2000. He led the Gamecocks to a top-20 national rating in total defense twice, and the 2000 team finished sixth in scoring defense after allowing only 15.8 points per game. Strong also spent four seasons at Notre Dame, where he oversaw the defensive line on a defense that set a school record with 41.5 sacks in a single season in 1997. Strong was a four-year letterwinner at the University of Central Arkansas, where he was a three-time All-Conference football pick and a two-time track recipient. He is married to the former Victoria Lovallo, and they have two children, Hailee (12) and Hope (9), as well as one son, Tory (21).

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