Count Matthew McConaughey among the Texans rebelling against Charlie Strong’s rumored coming ouster.
The Academy Award-winning actor and Texas native was cornered by a Fox 7 reporter Monday night as he was leaving a convenience store in Austin and asked his opinions on Strong amid reports that Friday night’s home game against TCU will be his last with the Longhorns.
McConaughey, sweaty and with a drink in hand, stared at the reporter with drooping, bloodshot eyes and launched into a passionate endorsement of the head coach.
“For his entire three years here, he’s had one goal in mind: What’s best for these young men,” he said. “That’s been his goal. And that’s the message that we’ll take forward, that’s the message that the whole university, and all our fans, and all the kids are going to take forward is that no doubt, for three years, he’s been about what’s best for these young men, and who they are in the rest of their life.
“That’s gonna be the legacy of Charlie Strong. And that’s a great thing — and that’s why we’re gonna go out and whoop TCU’s a– on Friday.”
If McConaughey’s speech were an attempt at rallying the Texas faithful behind Strong, he already has staunch support. Many Texas players took to Twitter after the reports of Strong’s firing first surfaced, uniting behind their coach with the hashtag #Strong.
Some of the players reportedly threatened to boycott the TCU game as a message to the athletic department, which Strong would not stand for.
“They won’t boycott this game,” he told the Dallas Morning News. “This game is about the seniors. They know how important it is.”