In the winter of 2010, Dabo Swinney entered Year 3 on the hot seat at Clemson. In response, he fired his offensive coordinator and cleaned house, turning to Tulsa offensive coordinator Chad Morris to reverse his fortunates.

Morris did just that, saving Swinney’s job and vaulting Clemson to its current place among the nation's elite.

He did it with a tempo and spread offense, dumping Clemson's old, methodical ways to put in a fast break.

It paid off.

Down in Austin, Charlie Strong is facing a similar situation. Right, wrong or indifferent, everywhere you turn he’s on every coaching seat hot list as he heads into his third season with the Texas Longhorns.

Strong, like Swinney, needs to put up points and do it in a hurry. Texas hasn't done that in either of his first two campaigns. The Longhorns were 113th nationally in total offense in 2014, but Strong still brought back offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and attempted to turn his run-heavy attack into more of a fast, spread operation. But that wasn't Watson's M.O., and the disastrous result of Texas' first game last season — a 38-3 loss at Notre Dame — cost Watson his job.

Strong's job is in jeopardy, too, despite consecutive starry recruiting classes that have bolstered Texas' talent. He's staring down the same avenue Swinney did six years ago.

So what does he do?

Just like for Swinney, Tulsa is the answer, the place for the Longhorns to get an OC who, like Morris, has the Texas spread in his blood with a successful resume as a high school coach, to boot.

New play-caller Sterlin Gilbert, 37, has the goods, just like Morris, to deliver out of the gates and eventually push the Longhorns back to where they belong: Among the nation’s elite in the years to come.

He can save Strong’s job just like Morris did for Dabo.

Flip on the Texas Spring Game. Texas' offense, as Gilbert imagines it, features the following: A spread, tempo attack; no huddle, no mercy ... The downhill running game led by big, bruising backs ... Quarterbacks that can move the chains with their arm and their feet. Fast-as-all-get-out wideouts that can take bracket screens to the house or go deep at any given time.

What you see in both Morris and Gilbert is a belief in a system, which they've learned from some of the best offensive minds in recent football memory -- Art Briles (Gilbert) and Gus Malzahn (Morris). It’s a fun offense at a breakneck pace. It’s pedal to the metal all day long. It’s confidence in the play calling.

It’s certainly what’s needed to win in the Big 12 these days. It’s past time the flagship program of that league modernizes and run the conference's signature style, too, instead of letting Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma State and others beat them with lesser talent but much better personnel use.

The ripple effect can already be felt. Skill talent wants to play in dynamic, tempo spread offenses.

It’s a big reason why explosive wideout Devin Duvernay opted for Texas this summer once he got out of his National Letter of Intent from Baylor. It won’t be long until his presence is made.

But back to the Spring Game. Texas rocked it out with 611 yards on 110 plays, and four touchdowns in 30 minutes.

That was like a month’s production for the previous offensive staff.

Just like that, through improved personnel use, the Longhorns figure to make a huge improvement nationally this season on that side of the ball.

They have their quarterback in freshman Shane Buechele. He’s accurate, he's mobile and Gilbert will put him in positions to succeed.

Don’t think so? Ask Trent Dilfer, the Elite11 guru, who couldn’t stop raving about Buechele's mechanics last summer.

"Literally, it's Aaron Rodgers, it's Drew Brees good," Dilfer said.

The talent at receiver is without question including Duvernay, an instant-impact guy, John Burt, Collin Johnson and Armanti Foreman.

The big backs are already a load. Chris Warren and D’Onta Foreman will be even harder to bring down with less bodies in the box.

Combine that with what figures to be an improved front featuring preseason all-conference players Connor Williams and Patrick Vahe that will get schemed around, and Texas should have one of the country’s most improved offenses.

Then there’s the marriage to Strong’s defense, his specialty. Don’t forget, he’s one of the best in the country on that side of the ball.

It will be a new challenge being tied to a tempo offense, one that figures to snap it over 80 times a game. The keys will be getting off the field on third downs and creating turnovers, but that’s part of the deal when tied to an offense like this. More snaps means more defensive downs.

The good news is Strong has recruited extremely well defensively. Sophomore Malik Jefferson, a 247Sports Composite Top 10 player in the class of 2015, was the preseason Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12.

Now he has to truly buy in like the other great defensive minds in the game, like Tony Dungy, Bill Belichick and Marvin Lewis.

All are defensive aces who were smart enough to be wide open offensively as head coaches. And at the same time had enough confidence in knowing what they were doing on their side of speciality.

The Gilbert hire seems to have hit at the right time as well. Baylor, despite a talented roster, is in complete shambles.

TCU is trying to replace half its starters. Texas beat Oklahoma last year ... without running this offense.

Those games, along with Notre Dame, are the most challenging ones ahead for Texas.

There's a very real scenario that could see nine wins, maybe more, come Texas’ way.

So hold tight in Houston, Tommy Herman.

Ryan Bartow is a National College Football Recruiting Insider for 247Sports. You can follow him on Twitter here. Bartow resides in Fort Lauderdale.