Charlie Strong to Louisville: Redman Was Joking

Yesterday, we wrote about the potential of Charlie Strong leaving the Florida Gators.  Then, ESPN reports that Charlie is at the top of Louisville’s list for coaches.  Then Chris Redman says that he already has the job and his kids are already enrolled at the Louisville High School.

Now, Redman is backing out of what was said and saying it was just a joke:

I said it in a totally joking manner,” he said. “We were talking about golf and the Falcons and then they asked me about the coaching situation. I believe I said ‘I think it’s going to be Curtis Strong.’ I didn’t even know that his first name was Charlie.

“I just said that was what I was hearing. My wife (Ashley) read it on the message boards and told me about it.

“Why would I be the one making any announcement about the U of L football program? I’m not the athletic director. Anybody who would believe that strictly because it’s something that I said would be an idiot.

“But I apologize if I have stirred anything up.”

Whether it be a joke or not, the fact is a lot of people felt that he had some good inside information and I for one didn’t think twice to second guess it.  He went on to talk about his kids being enrolled in high school there already!  If you were joking, you sir took the joke too far when you said that.  That was almost like instant validation to your claim.  Be the judge for yourself… watch the video and you decide if he was joking (51 minute mark).

Even if what he said was a complete farse, it doesn’t take away that the Louisville Athletic Director still has stated that Charlie Strong is the top Candidate for Louisville.

There are current reports that Phillip Fulmer, former Tennessee head coach, is meeting with the Louisville Athletic Department.  Tom Jurich mentioned that he would not interfere with Florida’s preparation for Alabama and would wait until after the SEC Championship Game to get Charlie to come to Louisville for an interview.  This somewhat goes in the favor that Chris Redman was in fact joking.

Where Have All the Rivals Gone?

Everyone has a rivalry game that means a little more to them than all the others. Most old timers will tell you its Georgia. Lose every game on the schedule but beat the Bulldogs, and they’re happy.

Georgia has been taken out behind the woodshed so many times as of late, it’s simply become routine to come back from Jacksonville with a win. Once in a while the Bulldogs pull out a win, but the last 20 years have been dominated by Florida.

Tennessee could be on its way back as a revived rivalry, thanks to all the trash talking by Lane Kiffin. Games against the Vols and Phil Fulmer were fun to watch, but the fact that the Gators played them so early in the season kind of softened the intensity. The fact is, you can stumble early against Tennessee and still salvage the season and play for a National Championship.

For me, Florida State is that game each season that gets the hatred stirring in my stomach. Despite FSU being down for quite some time, it’s also the game I’m always most worried about the Gators losing.

The Seminoles are in desperation mode. For a historically “dirty-playing” team, I have no doubts they will go to any lengths to injure players and win at any cost. You do remember all the late hits on Danny Wuerffel? How about Darnell Dockett at the bottom of a pile twisting Earnest Graham’s knee?

You will see late hits on Tebow. Plenty of taunting and trash talking will take place (from both teams) and if there isn’t a fight before, during or after, I’d be surprised.

Florida has to be careful. They are the team with everything to lose here. One out-of-control fight against FSU means potential suspensions for their match-up against Alabama the following week. Players must remember to keep their cool.

On paper, FSU has no chance to beat the Gators, but with a long history of meaningful rivalry games, you can throw out team records and rankings. For all the reasons FSU has to get up for this game (rivalry game, beating Tebow in his last game at The Swamp, ruining the Gator’s perfect season, throwing a BIG monkey wrench into the BCS system, winning for their once-relevant coach), Florida will use those same reasons to take care of business.

Urban Meyer is the best in preparing his players for big games. Let’s just hope they remember playing FSU is still a big game.