1 » Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong has yet to sign on the dotted line of a Louisville Cardinals head coaching contract, but the fan base is already getting riled up for his arrival by local papers touting his excellence. Monday night, the focus was on Strong’s personable relationship with the players he recruited and coached at Florida, including freshman linebacker Jon Bostic among others. “He coaches every player different out there because he knows how certain players will react,” Bostic said. “He does whatever it takes to get the job done.” Florida’s administration is still trying to keep Strong in Gainesville, FL.

2 » Using a 20-1 run to end the first half, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-4) took down the Florida women’s basketball team (3-5) 51-38 on Monday in the Women’s Jimmy V. Classic. Senior Steffi Sorensen scored 13 points to lead the Gators, though the team shot just 22 percent from the floor. Even though Florida outscored Rutgers by one in the second half, their 14-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome. The Gators next game is against the Old Dominion Monarchs (1-5) on the road Friday at 7 p.m.

Tags: Charlie Strong, Jon Bostic, Louisville Cardinals, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Steffi Sorensen, women's basketball, Women's Jimmy V. Classic

1 » Louisville Cardinals athletic director Tom Jurich spoke with the Louisville Courier-Journal on Monday about his continuing talks with Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong to become his school’s next head football coach. Jurich he is “further along today than I was yesterday, so that’s good,” but that he would have another conversation with Strong on Tuesday. “I don’t really have a status update, it’s on-going,” Jurich said. “I tell you what though, he’s very impressive, a very impressive guy, he’d be great for our community.” An official contract offer has not yet been made, and the Gators are expected to make Strong a counter offer to stay on board.

2 » Two days after their heartbreaking loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 SEC Championship, Florida players put the blame on themselves for not playing like they practiced throughout the week. “We thought we would have won the game with the way we practiced,” senior linebacker Ryan Stamper said. “It was just like any other practice — probably one of our better practices. We had juice in the locker room; we had juice when we went out on the field. We just couldn’t get the job done.”

3 » Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan told reporters on Monday that the team may be without sophomores guard/forward Ray Shipman (mid-foot sprain) and sophomore center Kenny Kadji (lower back) for Thursday’s game against the No. 7 Syracuse Orange (8-0) in the SEC/Big East Invitational from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL. Both players received MRIs and are considered questionable for the game. “We’re down to eight right now,” Donovan said. Speaking of Florida basketball, the team moved up to No. 10 and No. 11, respectively, in this week’s AP Top 25 and ESPN/USA Today coaches’ polls. Beginning the season unranked, the Gators are an undefeated 8-0 including a win over the then-No. 2 Michigan State Spartans.

4 » Shortstop recruit Casey Turgeon (Dunedin, FL), one of the best players in the state, committed to the Florida baseball program before his junior high school season.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, baseball, Casey Turgeon, Charlie Strong, Kenny Kadji, Louisville Cardinals, Michigan State Spartans, Ray Shipman, Ryan Stamper, SEC Championship, SEC/Big East Invitational, St. Pete Times Forum, Syracuse Orange, Tom Jurich

Named by numerous inside sources as the front-runner for the Louisville Cardinals head coaching job last week, Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong sat down for a meeting Sunday night in Gainesville, FL, with Tom Jurich, the school’s athletic director. Jurich, who waited to contact his Florida counterpart Jeremy Foley and then Strong until after the 2009 SEC Championship, said last week that he wanted to “get the program rolling” but not “be a disruption to their program.”

As OGGOA reported on Wednesday, Jurich was prepared for a lucrative counter offer from the Gators to keep Strong as their defensive coordinator and left the meeting (which was “several hours” long) feeling one was on the horizon. “We’ve got a little more work to do,” Jurich told ESPN’s Pat Forde after meeting with Strong. “I know Florida wants to keep him. I was very, very impressed by him,” he said. “He’s a quality guy.”

However, Jurich left the meeting without officially offering the job to Strong, though he will continue discussing it with him over the next few days. Jurich also told ESPN that he was given a noteworthy recommendation of Strong by former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. “Not a bad recommendation,” Jurich said.

Should Strong leave, it will be the second time in as many seasons that the Gators have lost a coordinator after the SEC Championship game with former offensive coordinator Dan Mullen being hired as the Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach in 2008. Assistant defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chuck Heater and assistant head coach/defensive line coach Dan McCarney would be the leading candidates to replace Strong should he accept the job. One of the two could join Strong as his defensive coordinator wherever he winds up, and rumors have begun that Strong plans to bring Florida wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales along with him as his offensive coordinator should he take a head job.

Tags: Billy Gonzales, Charlie Strong, Chuck Heater, Dan McCarney, Dan Mullen, Indianapolis Colts, Jeremy Foley, Louisville Cardinals, Mississippi State Bulldogs, SEC Championship, Tom Jurich, Tony Dungy

From time to time, OGGOA will come across too many news items we want to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

- Reports were released early Sunday that Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer was hospitalized late Saturday night with chest pains. However, Meyer actually checked himself into Shands hospital in Gainesville, FL, early Sunday morning. He was treated and released for dehydration. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Meyer “worked late recruiting Saturday night after the Southeastern Conference Championship game loss to Alabama, which may have contributed to his dehydration.” ESPN has the story:

- Four-star linebacker Jeff Luc (Port St. Lucie, FL), a recruit who was highly coveted by the Gators, committed to the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday according to Aaron Shepard, one of his high school coaches. “He said he’s been a fan since he’s been a little kid and it just felt like home since he went up there this weekend,” Shepard told The Orlando Sentinel on Sunday.

- Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong told reporters on Saturday that he has not yet spoken to the Louisville Cardinals and had no planned meeting with the school on Sunday. Sunday morning, the Cardinals spoke with Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley and received permission to speak with Strong about the job opening. According to ESPN’s Joe Schad on twitter, Strong and Louisville AD Tom Jurich have plans to meet Sunday night in Gainesville, FL.

- The Gators will likely face the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl. Meyer played defensive back for the Bearcats from 1983-1986.

- Former Alabama Crimson Tide running back Shaun Alexander, a close friend of senior quarterback Tim Tebow for some time, was seen consoling him late after the game in the Georgia Dome.

– Prior to the Miami Dolphins game on Sunday, former middle linebacker Channing Crowder ran out of the tunnel and gave a huge Gator Chomp to the crowd (which received a surprising ovation). Crowder was responsible for the game-clinching interception with 0:35 left in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots.

- Also a huge day for former Florida wide receiver Louis Murphy with the Oakland Raiders. Murphy caught four balls for 128 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers to give his team a 27-24 win.

- Competing in the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game are the following Florida commitments: Joshua Shaw (CB; Palmdale, CA), Jonathan Dowling (S; Southeast, FL), Demar Dorsey (S; Boyd Anderson, FL), Solomon Patton (WR; Murphy, AL), Leon Orr (DT; Gulf, FL), Mack Brown (RB; Martin Luther King, GA), Ian Silberman (OT; Fleming Island, FL). These recruiting prospects (among others) will also be playing in the game: Chris Dunkley (WR; Pahokee, FL), Kadron Boone (WR; Trinity Catholic, FL), Lamarcus Joyner (CB; St. Thomas Aquinas, FL), Cody Riggs (CB; St. Thomas Aquinas, FL), Chaz Green (OT; Tampa Catholic, FL), Devin Gardner (QB; Inkster, MI), Eric Mack (OG; Calhoun County, SC). For the star ratings of the Gators commits found in this list, visit OGGOA‘s recruiting page.

OGGOA will continue to update you with news throughout the day, so stay tuned.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Channing Crowder, Charlie Strong, Chaz Green, Chris Dunkley, Cincinnati Bearcats, Cody Riggs, Demar Dorsey, Devin Gardner, Eric Mack, Florida State Seminoles, Ian Silberman, Jeff Luc, Jonathan Dowling, Joshua Shaw, Kardon Boone, Lamarcus Joyner, Leon Orr, Louis Murphy, Louisville Cardinals, Mack Brown, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, SEC Championship, Shands, Shaun Alexander, Solomon Patton, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow, Under Armour All-American Game, Urban Meyer

Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong has been named as the leading candidate to become the next head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, and University of Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich has been quite open about that fact. While Jurich has not contacted Strong yet and will not do so until after the 2009 SEC Championship game, he has answered questions about his desire to see Strong as his next coach.

“I want to get the program rolling, I want to get after it, but I gave my word to several people that I didn’t want to be a disruption to their program,” Jurich told the Courier-Journal on Wednesday. “A lot of guys are still playing for a lot of important things. I’m the last person I want to get in the way.” The Orlando Sentinel spoke with Jurich Thursday and received a similar response. “I have too much respect for Urban [Meyer] and Jeremy [Foley] to be a distraction,” he said.

The Sentinel also reports that Jurich will not travel to Atlanta, GA, for the game and, contrary to other reports, is not expected to meet with Strong until after the weekend is over. In fact, Jurich and Louisville are of the belief that Florida will make a lucrative counter offer to keep Strong as its defensive coordinator.

Though Strong has interviewed for head coaching jobs in the past, he has always been turned down. One of the reasons why, according to Strong and others, is that his wife is white and that fact made many in the “Good ‘Ol Boy Network” uncomfortable. Jurich said that is not an issue for him whatsoever. “I haven’t heard that from too many people, but that doesn’t affect me at all We want someone with class and integrity, and I’m a real big guy when it comes to passion.”

Should Strong leave, it will be the second time in as many seasons that the Gators have lost a coordinator after the SEC Championship game with former offensive coordinator Dan Mullen being hired as the Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach in 2008. Like Mullen, Strong would likely stay on to coach the Gators in their January bowl game. Assistant defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chuck Heater and assistant head coach/defensive line coach Dan McCarney would be the leading candidates to replace Strong should he accept the job. One of the two could join Strong as his defensive coordinator wherever he winds up.

Tags: Charlie Strong, Chuck Heater, Dan McCarney, Dan Mullen, Jeremy Foley, Louisville Cardinals, Mississippi State Bulldogs, SEC Championship, Tom Jurich, University of Louisville, Urban Meyer

1 » Over the past few days, OGGOA has reported that Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong is the leading candidate to replace Steve Kragthorpe as head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. Yesterday, it was reported that Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich planned to wait until after the 2009 SEC Championship game to contact Strong after asking Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley for permission. Jurich expanded on his stance to the Courier-Journal Tuesday evening. “I want to get the program rolling, I want to get after it, but I gave my word to several people that I didn’t want to be a disruption to their program,” he said. “A lot of guys are still playing for a lot of important things. I’m the last person I want to get in the way.”

2 » Senior quarterback Tim Tebow has been named as one of three finalist for the 2009 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, which is given annually to the top quarterback in college football. The other two finalists are Texas Longhorns QB Colt McCoy and Houston Cougars QB Case Keenum. Fans are given 5 percent of the vote and can cast their ballot for Tebow to win the award every day until Dec. 6 by visiting http://www.VoteOBrien.org.

Check out four more very informative Florida Gators BITS after the jump…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Strong is No. 1, vote for Tebow, Alabama players, Jones vs. Haden, volleyball in NCAAs

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Case Keenum, Charlie Strong, Colin Peek, College of Charleston Cougars, Colt McCoy, Davey O'Brien Award, Georgia Dome, Greg McElroy, Houston Cougars, Jeremy Foley, Joe Haden, Julio Jones, Louisville Cardinals, NCAA Tournament, O'Connell Center, Scott Peek, SEC Championship, Steve Kragthorpe, Texas Longhorns, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, Tom Jurich, University of Florida, volleyball

Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong is the leading candidate to become the next head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, numerous sources have told Pat Forde of ESPN.

Cardinals athletic director Tom Jurich has had no contact yet with Strong, sources said. Jurich told his counterpart at Florida, Jeremy Foley, that he will not interfere with the Gators’ preparations for the SEC championship game Saturday against Alabama. However, shortly after that game is over, Jurich is expected to contact Strong, and an interview could take place as early as Sunday.

With sources saying that Strong is “the clear front-runner” for the job, ESPN’s Chris Low reports that “assistants around the country are already lining up to try and get onboard with Strong at Louisville.” Should Strong leave, it will be the second time in as many seasons that the Gators have lost a coordinator and head coach Urban Meyer will need to find a replacement. Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen was hired as the Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach after the 2008 SEC Championship game. Like Mullen, Strong would likely stay on to coach Florida in their January bowl game.

Assistant defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chuck Heater and assistant head coach/defensive line coach Dan McCarney would be the leading candidates to replace Strong should he accept the job. One of the two could join Strong as his defensive coordinator wherever he winds up. Should a team like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have any interest in Strong, they will have to act fast after the conference title game.

Tags: Charlie Strong, Chuck Heater, Dan McCarney, Dan Mullen, Jeremy Foley, Louisville Cardinals, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Tom Jurich, Urban Meyer

Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong could very well be the next head football coach for the Louisville Cardinals. But don’t expect any talks to begin until after this weekend, as University of Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich has halted his pursuit of a new coach until after said candidate’s team has finished playing. Jurich’s patience is noteworthy and commendable, though he will be forced to seek out a replacement before bowl games commence and will likely begin speaking to Strong a day or two after the 2009 SEC Championship game.

Strong’s agent, Nathan Whitaker, told the Courier-Journal that he has yet to be contacted about the Louisville opening. One dark horse candidate for Strong’s services may very well be the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, as pointed out by a dedicated OGGOA reader named Travis who took some time out to tell us exactly why.

Travis finds it curious that Strong’s name has not yet surfaced in regard to Notre Dame’s opening. It may be a long shot, but not nearly as big of a long shot as you may think. With a report today stating the Fighting Irish are considering Connecticut Huskies defensive-minded head coach Randy Edsall, here are a few things to consider:

Five reasons Strong-to-Notre Dame may be in the cards…after the jump…
Continue Reading » Strong to Louisville on hold, perhaps Notre Dame?

Tags: Charlie Strong, Louisville Cardinals, Nathan Whitaker, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, SEC Championship, Tom Jurich, University of Louisville