Charlie Strong tried to stay patient, kept telling himself that one day the right opportunity to become a head football coach would come along.

But the years passed and the phone call offering the perfect job never came. More than once the longtime Florida defensive coordinator wondered if it ever would.

Strong did his best to soldier on, never fully realizing how much he wanted to lead his own program until it the moment it actually happened.

It's why he had to bow his head and bite his lip moments after agreeing to take over as head coach at Louisville, the weight of years of frustration washing away into the frigid December air.

"When we were offered this job, me and my wife (Victoria) and I looked at each other," Strong said, "because you just never thought it was going to happen."

Strong, who helped Florida win two national championships, becomes the 11th black coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision and the fourth hired in the last month, signs that major college football is finally embracing minority hires.

"I think athletic directors and presidents are finally showing a sincere commitment to inclusion and equity," said Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches and Administrators Association.

While Strong wondered when his time would come, Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich had no such doubts. His only concern was that he waited too long to lure Strong away from the Gators.

Jurich pledged not to contact the 49-year-old Strong until after the Gators finished their regular season out of respect. He spent the down time talking to people like former NFL coach Tony Dungy about Strong's character. Yet when other jobs became available during the interim, Jurich admitted thinking his decision to be polite was "stupid."

He didn't hesitate once the Gators fell to Alabama in the SEC title game. Jurich and Strong met in Gainesville on Sunday and spent the next two days talking on the phone before Jurich flew back to Florida on Wednesday to get his man.

"I just wanted somebody so hungry he would crawl here, and there's no doubt he would crawl here," Jurich said.

Instead, Strong sprinted.

Strong was so focused on getting the rebuilding process started he and Jurich didn't even go over the details of his five-year contract that will pay him a base salary of $1.6 million annually until moments before he was introduced.

"It's like a non-issue to him, it's like it doesn't matter," Jurich said. "I just shook my head. I said 'Charlie I'm going to this board meeting in 15 minutes we've got to get it ratified' and he hadn't even addressed it yet. He just wants to win some games."