The Card Nation Interwebz went predictably berserk when word spread that there was some sort of major announcement coming today at noon. Though it's not as sexy or earth-shattering as a move to Big 12, I'd still say this is a solid development.
The U of L board of trustees has met and recommended that head football coach Charlie Strong be given a 2-year contract extension that would, according to CBS' Brett McMurphy, include an annual salary increase of 500K-750K.
There was a rumor a few weeks back that Louisville would announce a move to the Big 12 and a two-year Strong contract extension on the same day. The handful of people who heard the rumor were equally ecstatic about both pieces of information. Turn the page to today, and I've seen several people on Twitter openly questioning whether or not Strong is worthy of such an investment.
This was sort of my fear heading into the season. The worst part about Louisville overachieving in 2010 was and still is the resulting unrealistic expectations for 2011. People always expect improvement, which is silly in a situation where a program is losing 25 seniors.
When you look at recruiting, when you look at the fact that this year's team has had freshmen starters at nearly every position other than running back, and when you look at the way a lot of those younger guys have performed, I think this makes sense. Having four losses at the midway point is something we wouldn't want in any season, but it's something that I can almost guarantee would continue to occur if Strong left after this season or the one after that.
The strides that have been made over the past year and-a-half are easily recognizable, and those strides call for the type of stability that an extension like this should provide.