re: If what Strong said about a certain SEC school is true.

Frankly, I think he needed the stops he has made. At South Carolina he was a good, not great, DC. There was even this bit of doggerel: "Third and long, Charlie Strong." It stemmed from two standout losses, one to Tennessee in 2000 and another to Clemson the same year.

What he was great at was recruiting. That is something he did as well as anyone.

Later, the years at Florida, then the best overall sports program in the nation, he continued to learn. Then he was ready for Louisville.

I have met Charlie and found him to be a smart, articulate man and a good guy. The question, to me, is not whether his recruiting, coaching and "people" skills are sufficient. Rather, it is whether he is up the pressure that is felt nowhere like Texas, Bama, Florida, Southern Cal and, maybe, Ohio State. (Notre Dame has been humbled, and the Georgia Dawgs, a team I love dearly always bows to Saint Mark now.)

He has had the training and I wish him the best. He is no longer: "Third and long, Charlie Strong."