College football notes: Louisville hires Strong
Published 12:01 am Thursday, December 10, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong is headed to Louisville to be the Cardinals’ head coach. Louisville hired Strong on Wednesday to help revitalize a program that sagged under former coach Steve Kragthorpe, signing him to a five-year contract that will pay him a base salary of $1.6 million a year.
FSU’s Fisher cleans house
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Former Florida State star tailback Dexter Carter is among four Bobby Bowden assistant coaches not being retained after the Gator Bowl. Incoming head coach Jimbo Fisher is cleaning house after the Jan. 1 game. Carter, the Seminoles’ running backs coach the last three seasons, is out along with longtime Bowden assistant and former North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato, strength coach Todd Stroud and defensive ends coach Jody Allen.
TCU’s Hughes wins award
CHICAGO — Jerry Hughes of unbeaten TCU has won the Ted Hendricks defensive end of the year award. Hughes anchors the nation’s top-rated defense, and had 54 tackles and 111/2 sacks.
Brown gets $5 million deal
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas coach Mack Brown is a $5 million man, not just this season, but for the life of his contract. With the Longhorns playing for their second BCS national championship in five years, school officials agreed to raise Brown’s annual salary from $3 million to at least $5 million.
Brown was scheduled to receive a one-time $2 million payment early next year. University system regents agreed to make that an annual payment for the rest of his contract, which runs through 2016.
The length of the contract has not changed. Brown also will continue to receive an annual $100,000 raise already in his contract. He’ll also get a $450,000 bonus if Texas (13-0) beats Alabama (13-0) on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif.
Brown’s counterpart in that game, Nick Saban, recently signed a one-year extension to his contract with Alabama that pays him $4.7 million annually.
Locker honored
Quarterback Jake Locker was one of four University of Washington players who took home the biggest awards at the Huskies’ annual banquet Wednesday night.
Locker won the Guy Flaherty Award, given annually to the most inspirational player. Teammates Chris Polk (offense), Donald Butler (defense) and Erik Folk (special teams) also received honors.
Earlier in the day, Polk was named to College Football News’s freshman All-America team. The running back was a second-team selection.
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