Texas Longhorns players threatening boycott of TCU game

With head coach Charlie Strong in limbo regarding his future employment at Texas, some players are threatening action on their end.

For Charlie Strong and any possible future as football coach at the University of Texas, the last straw was surely last Saturday night’s loss to Kansas. There have been multiple reports that Strong will be fired, but Texas athletic director Mike Perrin issued a statement Sunday night denying any concrete decision about Strong’s status has been made.

On Monday, another layer has been added to the situation, via Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman.

It’s unclear which Longhorns’ players want to boycott Friday’s regular season finale against TCU, but it’s safe to say those that Strong recruited over his three seasons at Texas feel the most strongly about him. To that end, upperclassmen are reportedly intervening in an effort to quell a potential boycott. All things considered, a boycott of Friday’s game by any Longhorns players seems unlikely to actually happen.

During his regular Monday press conference, in response to the report of a possible boycott by players, Strong expressed his own concise sentiment that it will not happen.

Strong has been put into a difficult situation by the administration at Texas, which could have mostly been avoided. When multiple reports suggest a decision to fire him has already been made, there’s typically something to it. But the athletic director has chosen to deny and avoid it, while postponing the inevitable and letting Strong effectively twist in the wind.

Next: 5 NFL teams that should hire Charlie Strong

It’s not uncommon for players to come out in support of their coach, as Strong’s players did by showing up in droves to his Monday press conference. But if they had performed better on the field Strong would not be facing immediate (short-term?) unemployment, so threatening to boycott a game is a flimsy last resort and an empty message.