The relationship
between a college football coach and his new employer is akin to trying
to cook out with your five-year-old son for the very first time.

On one hand, this
new partnership could produce a fire that creates a delicious BBQ
dinner that is appreciated, enjoyed, and approved by all. On the
other hand, one mistake with the lighter fluid and your guests leave
hungry, Dad gets carted off to the emergency room, and Junior finds
himself bound for a lifetime of therapy.

Most times,
though, a raised voice keeps the house from burning down, Dad wipes the
dirt off the chicken, and Junior gets to bring in a plate of yum
despite the small tear running down his cheek.

Bottom line - You never know what’s going to happen until the match is lit.

Such is the spectacle known as “The College Head Coaching Shuffle."

The most volatile Human Resources event known to man.

But as much fun as
we poke at this spectacle, to the participants it’s a very tense,
stressful and sometimes humiliating process. It has become an
increasingly volatile mix of good-ol-boy networking, politics,
negotiating, timing, and luck.

It’s also a process where qualifications are often overshadowed by emotional interests.

Such is the case
of Charlie Strong – Florida’s Defensive Coordinator and Associate Head
Coach/Linebackers – and “should be” leading candidate for most any NCAA
Division I head coaching position.

We all know the
story from last winter. An apparently very frustrated Charlie Strong
publicly suggests that his interracial marriage was a negative factor
in his candidacy for several head coaching positions. The credibility
of his claim increased when other coaches with less than impressive
credentials found homes at schools with very strong football
traditions. In the end, Charlie stays at Florida but the talk of race
and head coaching opportunities makes big headlines.

For the most part, we haven’t heard a word from Charlie on this matter since.

His silence should not be confused with patience…

What is definitely
not confusing is that Charlie should be THE leading candidate, with
little or no head coaching experience, for a significant head coaching
slot in the nation today.

He’s due a “first
timer” opportunity similar to Bob Stoops’ move to Oklahoma , Pete
Carroll’s move to USC, Tommy Tuberville’s move to Ole Miss, and Les
Miles’ move to Oklahoma State.

It will probably
only take five to seven weeks into this season for some of those
programs who opted to pass on Charlie to start thinking about
calculating exit strategies… Charlie can at least enjoy knowing that
nothing corrects bad learned behavior like having a decision based upon
that behavior blow up in your face.

But…

Charlie is
definitely due a big move. If , though, he’s smart, really smart, he
will take a lesser program under his wing and find an offensive
identity to go along with his expertise on defense. A strategy that
could have benefited Ron Zook, Mike Shula, Sylvester Croom and many,
many others.

Think of it…
Charlie’s accomplishments include working with three very successful,
yet extremely different head coaches - Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier, and
Urban Meyer. The exposure to offense couldn’t be any more
extreme. He even had a great special teams tutor in Ron Zook.

The opportunities for creativity are endless.

Charlie is also
keenly aware that recruiting is the cornerstone to any successful
program. Again, it would be to his benefit to learn how to man the
helm of such an initiative by scratching it out with a lesser program
rather than attempt to meet the demands of a high-profile team right
off the bat.

All he needs is time… time to develop and implement his schemes.

But time is the enemy of big name programs and the margin for failure is growing smaller every year.

It’s pretty clear
that Charlie won’t pick the Mickey Andrew career path and stay with the
Gators for decades to come. Gator fans would love it and Mickey’s
record of putting college players into the pros might be in jeopardy
but Charlie is too ambitious for that.

Charlie will
probably leave at the end of this season and the betting money is that
he will be asked to head a progressive, major program. His
decision-making process is hidden to us all. But one has to wonder if
the snub of last year would be a compelling reason to take the most
prestigious offer presented.

Next January, it
would be a crowning testament to hard work, patience, brains, and
imagination to see Charlie make his first press address wearing the
colors of a well-recognized and tradition-rich program. However, it
would even be better to see him accept a similar introduction four
years from now with his huge grin radiating confidence rather than
nervous anticipation.

Trey Jones is a Scribe for the Bleacher Report. Visit http://bleacherreport.com/articles/242771-the-righteous-ascension-of-charlie-strong/show_full to read the original