Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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photography courtesy of texas athletics (scrimmage); Joe robbins/getty images (stadium). opposite page: photography by Joe robbins/getty images (game against ole miss); courtesy of texas athletics (strong) In an impressively long profile last month, ESPN The Magazine asked some ques- tions that a great many of us college football fans—us Longhorn football fans, in particular—have been asking since Charlie Strong took over as head coach of the University of Texas Football program: "Can he handle the job? Is there any pos- sible way to prepare for it?" While the Worldwide Leader in Sports didn't exactly answer the latter, the truth is that there are a number of ways to prepare for being head coach at Texas. You can run 33 miles a week, as Strong does. You can become a heralded assistant coach and consistently impress iconic bosses like Lou Holtz (at South Carolina) and Urban Meyer (at Florida), only to get passed over for top jobs time after time. You can lead Louisville's program to such prominence that, finally, a hungry and desperate Texas program comes knocking. And—this one's important—you can spend as much time as humanly possible recruiting and coaching and doing one of college football's toughest jobs. For better or worse, that means spending as little time as possible talking with magazines that aren't ESPN The Magazine. In our case, "as little time as possible" meant 10 minutes at Big XII Media Day this summer. And that's OK. Because, as football fans, we want Charlie Strong to Strong Must Succeed HE ALREADY TOLD US NOT TO EXPECT A TITLE, BUT IN HIS FIRST SEASON OF UT FOOTBALL, COACH CHARLIE STRONG HAS A LOT RIDING ON THE TEAm'S PERFORmANCE. BY MARK MAYFIELD Darrell K. Royal Stadium during the Ole Miss Rebels-Longhorn matchup last September. The Rebels won the game 44-23. above: Coach Strong and the team at a scrimmage in April. 78 AUSTINWAY.com PEOPLE Game Changer