AUSTIN, Texas -- As Charlie Strong gets off an elevator near his office, a student recognizes him and wants to show the Texas coach a video. It's footage of the cannon shooting off from the 45-40 loss to Oklahoma last Saturday. Strong enthusiastically obliges and later runs into one of his walk-on players majoring in engineering and jokes, "I sure didn't major in engineering."

For a guy who's reportedly in serious trouble, Strong doesn't show it. He knows the stakes and knows that he probably will be in trouble if the Longhorns don't turn it around and suffer through a third straight losing season. But he also knows that spending any time wondering or fretting about whom may or may not be against him among Texas' power brokers is useless.

"I said to somebody the other day that what we have going here is that the players are still with us," Strong told ESPN.com in a wide-ranging interview on Monday. "Now, if we had the players complaining, we'd be in trouble. And the parents, too. I get text upon text upon text from parents telling me to hang in there and that they're praying for me and that their son came here to play for me.

"It's a lot more unified here than maybe some people have made it out to be. We're talented and we're young, and we've got guys who can play. We just have to find a way to be more consistent, and we're going to do that."

In the face of three straight losses and swirling speculation that his third season at Texas could be his last, Strong doesn't flinch.

It's not his style, never has been.

He didn't flinch as a kid growing up in Batesville, Arkansas, when on some nights he would share a house with as many as 15 people. He didn't flinch during his defensive coordinator days at Florida when he kept getting passed over for head coaching jobs by less qualified candidates.

And he's certainly not going to flinch now, even with a 13-17 record as Texas' head coach and the restlessness and grumbling at one of college football's biggest fish bowls growing louder by the day ... and the loss.

For the 56-year-old Strong, it's business as usual. His blueprint and his vision haven't wavered. Neither has his resolve.

"You stick to it, especially here, because if you don't, it will wear you down," he says.

Charlie Strong says the Longhorns "don't want to be going backward, and we're not." Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately for him, his Monday each of the past three weeks has been the same, trying to explain a Texas loss and, more specifically, how the Longhorns suddenly can't stop anybody. They've given up at least 45 points in all three losses and a total of 1,734 yards.

It's no secret that the specter of Houston's Tom Herman looms large in these parts. The fear among some Texas supporters is that Herman may be scooped up by another school if Texas doesn't act this year by cutting ties with Strong.

Confronted with that scenario, Strong flashes his easy smile and shrugs. Sure, he's heard it -- more than once.

At the same time, he also has been in touch with key boosters, as he has since he took the job. More importantly, he knows which ones to call. Of course, at a place like Texas, one of the inherent problems is that everybody thinks he's a key booster, creating a very vocal and loud minority.

There's also a misnomer out there that Strong isn't engaged with some of the big-money Texas boosters. Just this summer, he attended a function at Roger Staubach's house in Horseshoe Bay with several prominent Texas donors.

"I know the guys to keep in touch with, and I do," Strong said. "They've been great and always want to know if there's anything they can do to help. Now, I don't go to dinner with those guys, so I'm not going to be seen in public with them. I'm not a member of their country club and I don't play golf, so I don't go play golf with them. But I pick up the phone and call them, keep in touch.

"They want the same thing I do, to see this program continue to make strides."

"We're talented and we're young, and we've got guys who can play. We just have to find a way to be more consistent, and we're going to do that." Texas coach Charlie Strong

Strong said the notion that he has tucked away in his own football cocoon and disengaged with everybody simply isn't true and a narrative that has been falsely planted.

"They also said we had no relationship with high school coaches, and look at the recruits we've been able to get in this state," Strong said. "It's almost like everything they said we don't do, we do. That's why you don't spend time fighting that stuff. We have enough to keep us busy."

Like winning games, which ultimately will decide Strong's fate. He's not naïve. Even with the recruiting gains made on his watch, it would be difficult for him to survive if this season completely unravels. The Longhorns close out October with Iowa State at home this Saturday, then Kansas State on the road and Baylor back home.

"We need to finish strong, where we're on an upswing," Strong said. "We don't want to be going backward, and we're not."

Texas president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin both came publicly last week in support of Strong. Dreaded votes of confidence or not, one of the things Strong has going for him is that Perrin is from the Darrell Royal tree, and many of Royal's former players are influential and have expressed their support for Strong.

But most important, at least with regard to turning this season around, is that the Texas players have remained staunchly behind Strong.

"What I look at is we have a team that's making strides and not going backward," Strong said. "Now, we haven't won like we want to, but I look at where we're heading and know we'll get there because I believe in the kids so much that I know it's going to happen."

Strong was criticized for Texas' lack of offense his first two seasons, and one of his mandates from fans was to bring in a quarterback for the future. Well, he has done that with freshman sensation Shane Buechele, who has thrown for 1,204 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The problem now is on defense. The Longhorns have been scorched by the deep ball, and even with Strong taking over the defensive play-calling last week, the results were the same. It's true that you have to be equipped to win shootouts every week to contend in the Big 12, but Strong said the plan was never to sacrifice on defense to get there.

"I don't think we sacrificed anything," he said. "What we have lost is giving up the big play. I don't think we've lost anything in terms of toughness or competing on defense. It's just giving up the big plays. That's what is killing us right now, and that's what we have to get fixed."

Strong has never been one to think too much about the what ifs in coaching.

"It's part of the business. People lose their jobs," he said.

But in terms of the bigger picture, he admits there's a different sort of pressure to succeed at Texas that he holds near and dear to his heart. It's why he says softly, but with conviction, that he has to make it.

"I look at it like this: A lot of African-Americans didn't get this opportunity, and now that I did get it, there are so many people counting on me to be successful, and not just African-Americans, but people who just never got a chance," Strong said. "Sometimes, I think it's bigger than me. I don't know why I think like this, but I'll be lying in bed at night thinking, 'There's another minority out there who wants to be the CEO of IBM, and if I'm successful here, will that success help that guy go be the CEO of IBM or go run a hospital?'

"You look at Texas and look at how big the Texas job is, and nobody wants to win more than I do. But if that opens up doors for others, that's a win for a lot of people."