Longhorns' Charlie Strong sends message with strongest comments yet on Miami rumors

Charlie Strong understands the challenge of being Texas' football coach after nearly two full seasons.

In case anyone still thinks he might be looking for an early, easy exit to some other job, he sent a message Monday with his most emphatic comments yet.

"I never run from anything," Strong said. "You just grind it out."

Rumors had swirled for weeks about Strong and the University of Miami, finally quieting after interim athletic director Mike Perrin told Austin's "The Horn" KTXX-FM (104.9) last week that Strong was staying put after a conversation between the two.

"You can count on it," Perrin said. "You can go to the bank with it."

Strong is just 10-13 at Texas and 4-6 this season, with games remaining on Thanksgiving against Texas Tech and Dec. 5 at Baylor. But he has strong backing from Perrin and new president Greg Fenves.

On Monday, Strong said he assured his team that he would be at Texas for "the duration" and told them not to worry.

"Well, I told our players that I'm not going anywhere," Strong said. "I've made a commitment here, and we are going to see this program through and we're going to get it back on track."

Since replacing Mack Brown and receiving a five-year, $25 million guaranteed contract, Strong has struggled trying to return Texas to the Big 12's upper echelon. He changed play-callers and starting quarterbacks this season. The Longhorns have lost eight of their last 12 games dating to Thanksgiving 2014.

Behind the scenes, former athletic director Steve Patterson was alienating large portions of the administration, donors, faculty and fan base.

"There's no self-pity." Strong said. "A lot of times when you're in the position you're in, it's because of what you did to yourself. We didn't do a good job of coaching. If we did a better job of coaching, we wouldn't be in this position."

Twitter: @ChuckCarltonDMN