Jurich absolutely has the support of all above, and he has the bucks, reserve as well as donations. The only thing that will move Charlie Strong would be your second point, he just wants to get to SEC level. That might happen down the road, but not this year. I would bet my house and both dogs that Charlie will not come to Tennessee.
This is true. A lot of these quotes about so-and-so isn't leaving such-and-such place are spawned from media questions asking directly whether he's leaving. Of course he's going to say no. There is no other acceptable answer. Maybe he's Louisville for life. Maybe he ain't. I don't think you can assess that based on a sound byte. Jurich's comments about not letting Strong get away are all well and good, and he may be sincere about making Strong the highest-paid football coach in America, but does he have the support of the guys over his head? When it comes to money, athletic directors are merely pawns in a game that is much bigger than they are. Besides, there's more to football than just money. If Strong believes he's got what it takes to succeed at Tennessee (and I've never seen a coach at any level without a healthy ego), he would be crazy to stay at Louisville and turn down an opportunity to jump to a big-time SEC program. Maybe he feels like he owes Louisville something for giving him his shot, much like Pearl felt indebted to Tennessee. If that's the case, he might stay there another year or two or three. Make him an offer and see what he says.
