Charlie Strong Charles R . Strong ( born August 2 , 1960 ) is the head coach for the University of Louisville football team . Strong is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas where he was a player from 1980 - 1983 . Before being named head coach of the Louisville team in 2010 , Strong previously held assistant coach and defensive coordinator positions with six different college football teams . Coaching career . Charlie Strong was born in Batesville , Arkansas . After lettering for four years ( 1980 – 1983 ) at the University of Central Arkansas , Strong joined the Gators coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 1984 . He later served as a graduate assistant at Texas A & M in 1985 . His first full - time coaching job was at Southern Illinois in 1986 , where he coached wide receiver s . He later assumed defensive coaching duties at Florida , Ole Miss , and Notre Dame . He also received a master ' s degree and education specialist degree from the University of Florida . He is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity . In 1999 , Strong joined the South Carolina Gamecocks as defensive coordinator , becoming the first African American coordinator in Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) history . His stifling defenses and charismatic personality created buzz that he would be possibly the first black head coach in the SEC , but job offers were slim . Sylvester Croom eventually broke the color barrier in the SEC coaching ranks . Strong was hired as defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators before the 2003 season . Florida head coach Ron Zook was fired midway through the Gators ' 2004 season , but continued to coach until the bowl game ; Strong served as interim coach of the Gators for one game , the December 2004 Peach Bowl . Florida lost the game , 27 – 10 , to Miami . When Urban Meyer was hired as Florida ' s head coach , Strong was the only assistant coach retained from Zook ' s staff . In a January 2009 interview with the " Orlando Sentinel " , Strong expressed his belief that race played a large part in the reason that he hadn ' t been offered a head coaching job at that point . Strong , whose wife is white , especially cited prospective employers ' discomfort with his interracial relationship . Florida ended up hiring Utah ' s Urban Meyer , who would lead Florida to two national titles and was the coach at the top of every program ' s wish list . He became the 21st head football coach at the University of Louisville on December 9 , 2009 . In a telephone interview that day with ESPN . com columnist Pat Forde , former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy , himself African American , said of Strong , " When they see what he can do , you ' re probably going to have a lot of people disappointed they didn ' t hire him sooner . " Strong led Louisville to a victory in the 2013 Sugar Bowl over his former team , the Florida Gators , by a final score of 33 - 23 . It was the biggest upset victory in terms of point spread in any BCS bowl game since the inception of the BCS in 1998 , as Florida entered the game favored by almost two touchdowns . On January 23 , 2013 Strong was given a $ 1 . 4 million raise which brought his annual compensation to $ 3 . 7 million and raised his buyout to $ 5 million . At the time it made him 7th highest paid active coach in college football and highest paid coach outside the SEC , Big 12 , and Big Ten conferences . Personal life . Strong was born August 2 , 1960 in Batesville , Arkansas . He and his wife , Victoria , have two daughters , Hailee and Hope ; he has a son , Tory , from a previous relationship .