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Charlie Strong, snubbed by Mario Cristobal, parts with Hurricanes

'It's time for me to go in a different direction,' co-defensive coordinator tells ESPN
Charlie Strong, linebackers coach for Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021
(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
Jacksonville Jaguars assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach Charlie Strong watches from the sideline during the second half of a game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla.
Charlie Strong, linebackers coach for Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Charlie Strong, who served as Miami's co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach last season but was reportedly passed over by head coach Mario Cristobal for the top defensive job in 2023, is parting ways with the Hurricanes.

Strong told ESPN on Thursday that he won't return this season.

"Coach Cristobal and the program made a decision to go in a different direction," Strong said. "It's time for me to go in a different direction."

According to reports, Cristobal has decided to hire Lance Guidry to replace Kevin Steele, who left Miami for the same position at Alabama.

FILE - McNeese State head coach Lance Guidry looks on in the first half of an NCAA college football game against BYU on Sept. 22, 2018, in Provo, Utah. Miami is hiring Lance Guidry, who was defensive coordinator at Marshall last season and recently accepted the same position at Tulane, to lead its defense, two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because a deal was still being finalized between Guidry and Miami.
FILE - McNeese State head coach Lance Guidry looks on in the first half of an NCAA college football game against BYU on Sept. 22, 2018, in Provo, Utah. Miami is hiring Lance Guidry, who was defensive coordinator at Marshall last season and recently accepted the same position at Tulane, to lead its defense, two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because a deal was still being finalized between Guidry and Miami.

Guidry was recently hired by Tulane but spent last season as Marshall's defensive coordinator.

Strong said Cristobal never interviewed him for the job and told the second-year Miami coach that he wouldn't be back the day after learning of Guidry's hiring.

The 62-year-old former head coach at Louisville, Texas and South Florida spent the 2021 season as an assistant under Urban Meyer with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars before joining Cristobal's staff.

Strong was also the interim head coach at Florida after Ron Zook was fired in 2004. He remained at Florida when Meyer was hired, serving as defensive coordinator on the Gators' 2006 and 2008 national championship teams.

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