Texas Head Coach Charlie Strong

Opening Statement: This past week, I was able to just look back and reflect and evaluate the season. We know this: we didn't perform the way that we should have. Offensively, it's all about scoring points. Defensively, it's about stopping people. We were not a consistent team week in and week out. We have to get better. Offensively, we just want to be an up-tempo team that can move the football, get first downs, and be exciting to watch. Defensively, we know where we are, we have to execute better, have a plan in place, but we have to execute better. It isn't about the offense, it isn't about the defense, it isn't about the special teams, but it's about us, not only as a team, but also as a coaching staff. It's all about team chemistry. This week I made some changes on offense, and I would like to introduce our new additions to our coaching staff. They are unbelievable coaches. Two guys that have worked together and have worked at a lot of places, and the good thing about one is that he is a Texas high school coach. They have done a great job everywhere they have been, and would I like to start it off with our offensive coordinator, he will take the podium here in a second, Sterlin Gilbert , and our running game[/offensive line] coach Matt Mattox . More importantly, I would like to thank President [Gregory] Fenves and our athletic director Mike Perrin for all the support they've given us. I noticed you guys followed us up to Tulsa last week, and they made the trip with us. The reason why they came was to show their support for not only for me, for but this program and the people involved. I will let Sterlin take the podium first, and let him introduce himself.

Texas Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Sterlin Gilbert

Opening Statement: Extremely excited and blessed to be at The University of Texas. To echo what Coach just said, I'd really like to thank President Fenves, Mike Perrin, and Coach for allowing us to be here. We're here, and our feet are on the ground, which means we are ready to go to work. The next thing I'm looking forward to is seeing and meeting our kids.

On knowing the scope of Texas Football: Without a doubt. We're excited about being here. Coach just said what he wants, he was looking for an up-tempo offense, a guy with Texas ties, and being able to coach quarterbacks. That's what I've got a background in. Obviously bringing Matt [Mattox] with me is huge and a piece of that. So we're just excited to get to work.

On if he has interacted with the quarterbacks: Not yet. It's been a recruiting weekend, so I haven't had time to evaluate film in the process. That is one of the next things on my list, to sit down, evaluate and go through film to see where we are at that position.

On juggling recruiting and assessing the current roster: The good thing is, starting today we are in a dead period. Recruiting is recruiting, it's always there, we've got a little down time to start evaluating and start looking and figuring out where the pieces fit and where they are going to fit in what we do offensively.

On what he needs in staff to get his offense installed: That big guy standing there to my left, that's why he's here. That's the number one piece. We've been together for a while now and understand how each other work and how this offense fits, especially with him being an offensive line guy, and me being a quarterback guy, from that perspective. Our feet are on the ground, it's time to go to work, and that's what we are here to do.

On the media attention and his decision to come to Texas: Media is media. That's your job. You've got a job to do, and we've got a job to do. I'm going to do my job. With that said, there were several people that were instrumental in this decision that I leaned on as mentors. The first guy is Art Briles. That man is a high character guy, and he's a guy I leaned on numerous times through his process. Y'all know we are in the middle of recruiting, he's in the middle of recruiting, and I never called him one time when he didn't answer the phone. I leaned on him really heavily. Dino Babers, another high character guy that I coached with, answered every phone call I fielded to him. Those guys are really important to me. They're mentors, they're guys I coached with, coached for, and coached under, and they were heavy and very instrumental in me being here today.

On if Mattox coming was a package deal: It was huge. I wouldn't necessarily say it was a cow-calf deal, but it was a huge part in us being here. It's just a fit for what he does up front and what we do from our perspective with the skill guys. It's just a fit, and we've done it. This will be the fourth time we've been together and installing this offense.

On the realistic expectations for success at Texas: It's about progression. That's what we're looking at from day one. When we start, there's always a base, and it's always where we are trying to go. So it's steady progression, always progress never regress. We're going to coach our kids hard, they're going to have fun, we've just got to see them, get our hands on them, see them go through offseason workouts, see them compete, see them lift, and then we will get the install phase of the offense going.

On his relationship with Mattox: We're close. I would say I'm very close with his family. It goes back to our days at the University of Houston when we were both GAs, so yeah. We're tight if that's what you want to know. I'm very close to Matt's family. I get my kid fix with his daughters when my nieces aren't around, so we're really close.

On his decision to come to Austin: It's a great opportunity. It's The University of Texas, and that's why I'm standing here today.

On what it means to come back to Texas: It's huge. I'm a Texas high school football coach. So to be able to stand here today is very important to me. It feels very important for the Texas high school coaches, and I have gotten numerous texts and calls from guys I've coached with, guys that I've networked with, guys that I know throughout the state of Texas that are very excited about this. They're very excited about the process and helping get The University of Texas back to where it needs to be.

On his major offensive philosophies: Fast, physical, have fun, and score points.

On what he has done with the offense at Tulsa: I would just start with up-tempo. We base out of the spread, but we also run the football. I think [Tulsa] ran around 2,500 yards rushing this year. I think [QB] Dane [Evans] finished number seven in the nation [in passing yards]. So we're pretty balanced. We are more balanced than people realize. Those two backs we've got sitting here on campus, we're really excited about because of our run game and what we do.

On keeping the legacy of Texas: Without a doubt. There's a standard here, and you want to fall in love with the greats that have come through here. Coach Strong has done an unbelievable job of setting the base and setting the standard at The University of Texas for the direction we're going. Right now, it's our job to continue that, and not only continue that, but better it.

On how his coaching history has helped him: It does. This will be the fourth time with the install, so I think I've got it down. We're excited about it. It will be a good situation and a good process for us. I haven't seen our kids yet, and that's what this whole deal is about, our kids. I'm ready to see them, get my hands on them, talk to them, and start creating those relationships with them.

On if he saw Texas play this year and the possibility of a freshman quarterback: I did not get to see Texas play this year. Obviously when you're coaching on Saturdays and all that you don't see much college football. We're going to play the best guy that will help us win.

On if he thinks who is making the play calls is overrated: Well, I am not going to say that it's overrated. When I was with Dino [Babers], I called plays [at times]. It's not an overrated deal. I know in this offense everyone has an integral part of it, schematically, and game management on game day. There are voices being heard, voices being listened to, and we will make it work.



On tight ends coach Jeff Traylor as a former Texas high school football coach: I love Jeff. You started it and said it right there, he is a former Texas high school football coach. I don't know whose accent is heavier, mine or Traylor's, but he is great man. He is a man of high integrity. He is a high character guy. He loves kids, and the thing about being a Texas high school coach football coach, when that is the core of you, it's built on relationships. That's the only way you survive in high school football is building on relationships. Year in and year out, you don't recruit, you get, and when you don't have relationships with kids form seventh grade all the way up to when they graduate, [it's difficult]. So the way we are with kids and the way we are around kids, really goes back to our high school background.



On President Fenves and Mike Perrin making the trip to Tulsa: That situation was about commitment. It was commitment about me getting here, and I am here now. That's it.



On the particular skill set needed from the Texas quarterback: You look for a guy who can sling it around, that's accurate, and can process things. You want a guy who is highly competitive. If you were looking at a high school kid, you look at – was he successful in high school? Did he win a lot? Those are the kids we really want to recruit, high character kids, highly competitive kids, and kids that are winners, especially at the quarterback position. You love the kids that are dual-athlete kids, those that are playing multiple sports in high school.

Texas Offensive Line Coach/Running Game Coordinator Matt Mattox

Opening Statement: First off, I want to say thanks to President Fenves, Mr. Perrin, and Coach Strong for giving me this opportunity, for not only myself, but my wife, Stacey, and my daughters, Kirby and Macey. It's a great honor for us to be able to be here at The University of Texas, and it's very easy for my wife to pull back out all of the Longhorn gear that she's had to put away for a little bit. I'm definitely excited for the opportunity.



On what he thinks about what he is inheriting: The number one thing we're going to do is have a physical run game, we're going to be a downhill-type team. Having multiple backs that can go do that for you is going to be a great opportunity. I'll get a chance to really sit down and watch some more film, not only on those guys, but obviously what we have coming back offensive line-wise and where things are going to fit. But I'm never going to be mad at guys that can make you look good when things aren't going right.



On his coaching style: We're going to coach them hard, but at the end of the day we're going to love them hard, too. It's got to be about an open relationship between myself and the players and our o-line. And really a lot of positions it boils down to technique and fundamentals, and once we give those guys that base and their tool belt, they'll be able to handle a lot of different situations. Then it's just about the scheme part of it and putting them in the best situations that are going to win.



Recruiting-wise, I'm always looking for big athletic guys that can bend and can move and that are physical. When you turn on film, you know, it's easier to pull them back than it is to tell them to go attack. So, we definitely like that and want that style of offensive lineman when they're looking for them.



On why the offensive line style of play is so important in spread offense: The physicality part is something that you have to embrace in every game, whether you're offense or defense. You go back to pee-wee ball, it comes down to blocking and tackling, and it doesn't change a lot all the way up. Being able to out-physical your opponent by the end of the fourth quarter and getting into the fourth quarter to wear people down physically and running the ball is one way that can make a defensive coordinator break down more than anything. They'll give up a long pass, but when you can just pound it on them and be able to consistently run the football, it's tough on them. So that's something that we blend well with [ Sterlin Gilbert ]'s quarterback coaching and then what I've been able to do in this offense as the o-line guy.



On the process of installing with the other Texas coaches: A lot of it will just a lot of verbiage deals, making sure we're all on the same page. There's no egos when we get into that room together, so if they have a technique or something they've used in the past that's something that can fit into what we're doing and we all like it, it's not going to be an issue. A good play is a good play or a good blocking style is a good blocking style, no matter who takes credit for it. It really just comes down to the verbiage we like and making sure we're all on the same page, and when we hit the field, there's no gray area between the coaches. The players got to see that and know that we're all on the same page and we're ready to rock.



On his offensive philosophy in terms of the run game: We lean on some power schemes, gap schemes, some zone schemes. I had a coach one time tell me that we're going to run a play and it's going to be called "Momma;" when all else fails and you don't know what to do, your girl breaks up with you, you go home and you call "Momma." And that's going to be power, we're going to run it. So that's what we're going to do, and we're going to be physical in whatever we do, whether it's running or pass blocking.



On how the coaching change will affect the players at Texas, especially in terms of the physicality: It'll be a total deal. I've already talked with a couple of strength coaches. We'll get together, and you know with the big guys, it's always a big shock for them a little bit. And we understand that, we don't freak out when after day two if they can't move or anything like that or however they get through tempo. Normally we'll take a break for five minutes in the middle of practice. They break, that's their time. They want to lay down, they want to break, they want to catch their breath because they'll know once we go, we're going to go again. After doing it for a few years in a row, you get a chance to see, "Hey, this was good, this was bad, we've got to do this…" So being able to put all of those ideas together is something that can just help you in the future.



On becoming a coach at The University of Texas: I'm from a small town in Kansas, and I've had my brother kind of hit me up about that saying, "Man, you live a crazy life," and I said "Well, it is a little bit," but at the end of the day, you know, when you get in a room with 17- and 18-year old kids and you're talking about football, that's what I'm comfortable doing and that's what you're used to doing. My eyes worked just as well at Butler Community College as they do now. I might get to play with some better athletes and stuff like that up front, but I've got to trust in what I know as far as technique and what I know as far as building relationships with those kids. Obviously the level of play that we're going to experience in the Big 12 is great and being at the greatest university, The University of Texas, I'm ready to go out and perform for these guys and help everything else.



On what he knew about Coach Strong going into the interview process: Well, I didn't know a ton about Coach Strong when that was going on, but what I did know was having the opportunity to sit down not only with myself, my wife got to sit down with me, and we got to talk to Coach Strong. Having him explain the direction we're going with the program, the guys we have coming back, having the administration there and supporting him, and knowing that we're ready to get this thing going in the right direction was huge. And my wife was getting answers, my kids love to come up to practice and knowing he's a family man and his daughters are around all the time and stuff like that, that's all stuff that's really important for our family atmosphere as well.



On his level of confidence coming into Texas: We're confident in what we can do. Obviously the biggest thing that Coach [Gilbert] said earlier was that we're ready to get to building those relationships with our players that we have here right now, and that's what it's all going to boil down to. It's our job to give them the tools to go out there and get an A. Every time on Saturday or whenever we play, it's a chance for them to go get an A on the test, and that's our job as coaches to make sure they have everything at their disposal to go get that done.

On his description of Coach Gilbert on game day: He obviously has knowledge of what he is doing, being able to attack different areas during the football game and adjust when it happens. We are all very competitive, so when we get an opportunity and we smell blood, we are always going to go after it. So it will be good.



On his mode of communication with the players: I am always trying to be encouraging and help out. There is obviously time when it's time to get things done and time to get things right. They know you are going to love them hard, and you are going to be fair this them. That's the best thing, especially o-linemen. They are big guys, but they are pleasers. They want to go out and fight and do well for everybody. Having played o-line in this system, I can relate to some of the things they go through whether it's practice and that type of stuff. That's a little bit about what I am going to do, but it's not going to be anything where I am just tearing them down. I don't find that to be successful with them. I am going to keep them positive and keep things moving. The greatest thing about up-tempo is you got to move on to the next play, you can't worry about the last one.