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Louisville Negotiating New Deal to Keep Charlie Strong

Posted byBy Jacobi Eaves | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Louisville is negotiating a contract extension for coach Charlie Strong to offset an offer for the same position at  Tennessee.

Strong is in five-year deal, which is worth is $2.3 million per year. Louisville is looking to extend that deal and give him a pay raise that will be competitive with other coaches in college football, according to ESPN.

The Volunteers offered Strong the head coaching position on Wednesday after Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy turned them to down Tuesday night to stay at his alma mater, Oklahoma State.

The offer from Tennessee has the coach “going back and forth” between staying with the Cardinals or accepting the new head coaching position, according to CBSSports.com.

Strong was asked Monday whether he could say definitively if he would be back at Louisville next season, he said, “I will say that at the right time.”

Before the last game of the season against Rutgers, Strong adamantly denied rumors that he met with Auburn about its coaching vacancy, which was filled Tuesday by Gus Malzahn.

Strong is in his third season as Cardinals head coach and has guided them to a 10-2 record, a share of the Big East title this year and a berth in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. He has compiled a record of 24-14 with the Cardinals since being hired in 2010.

If Strong chooses to go to the SEC, he will be in familiar territory. He was the defensive coordinator at Florida under Urban Meyer when the Gators won national championships in 2006 and 2008. Strong also served as the defensive coordinator at South Carolina under Lou Holtz.

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