Former USF coach Charlie Strong heading back to the NFL
Charlie Strong, the last coach to preside over a ranked USF team, will be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ new defensive line coach.
The news was first reported by NFL Networks’ Ian Rapoport on Wednesday. Strong, 64, was hired at USF in 2016 after previous stints at Louisville and Texas.
He compiled a 21-16 record in three seasons at USF.
Strong led the Bulls to their first 10-win season in 2017. He failed to replicate the record-setting season after that, only winning 11 games the next two years.
Strong was fired after a 4-8 season in 2019.
The Bulls were ranked as high as No. 16 under Strong in 2017. USF has not made an AP poll appearance since 2018.
After USF, Strong held various coaching positions, most recently serving as a defensive analyst at Alabama in 2023.
Strong is known for his unsuccessful tenure at Texas prior to being hired at USF, leaving the program with the worst win percentage by any coach in school history.
He is the only head coach in Longhorns history to record three straight losing seasons.
Strong is largely considered to be a defensive-minded coach, having spent seven seasons as the defensive coordinator at Florida. He helped lead the Gators to two national titles in 2006 and 2008.
This is Strong’s second position in the NFL. He spent 2021 as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach.
He will replace Kacy Rodgers in Tampa, who was hired as the Detroit Lions’ defensive line coach.
Under Strong, USF football was hit with multiple violations for failing to monitor the program.
USF received a $10,000 fine and a three-year probation from the NCAA in 2021 for exceeding the amount of permissible countable coaches.
Teams were previously only allowed to have 11 countable coaches until 2024, when that policy was ended.
USF also lost two football scholarships for the 2022-23 football season due to the violations.
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