He has been with SterlingBank for 12 years

It is the next best thing to hiring a coach from a big time Big 10, Big 12 or SEC school.6. Ignore the idea that at 48, Strong is too old and Louisville needs a young, energetic coach to rebuild. Louisville really is still the program that had winning seasons under John L Smith and Bobby Petrino who just had a setback. Strong could have this program contending for Big East titles again within three years, at the ripe old age of 50, and still have 15 good years left in his coaching career.7 Louisville is more likely to hold onto Strong. Face it, hire a younger guy and you are molding him for a bigger school or the NFL, but if Strong wanted to go to the NFL, he would have left for their affirmative action program for black coaches a long time ago, and ironically would likely be an NFL head coach by now.Strong's age is precisely what would make him less attractive to other colleges. Strong would also reward the college who gave him a shot when no one else did with loyalty. This is a not insignificant one; Hiring Strong weakens Florida, which weakens the SEC.

While Urban Meyer's spread-option offense has been getting all the publicity, Charlie Strong's defense has been doing the dirty work. It was the defense that kept Meyer from going through what Rich Rodriguez is experiencing at Michigan right now, particularly that first year when Meyer went 9-3 and nearly won the SEC East.The defense largely won Florida their first title and also shut down Oklahoma last year when OU shocked Florida by holding them to 14 points and of course, the defense is carrying the team this year.So if Florida is knocked down a peg, the stranglehold that the SEC has on the BCS title game would weaken greatly. That would open things up for other teams, including the Big East, which includes LOUISVILLE and don't shed tears for the SEC, who would do the same to any other school or league in a heartbeat. As a matter of fact, the current SEC head coaches came from places like Iowa State, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Louisville, Utah, and FSU.SEC teams even rip off each other.

Auburn hired Tommy Tuberville from Ole Miss, and Ole Miss hired Houston Nutt from Arkansas. So, if the Big East wants to be the best, they are going to have to beat the best at their own game, which means hiring the top coaching candidates available.The top assistant coach in college football is clearly Charlie Strong, so he should be Louisville's next head coach Get it done, Jurich!. HOUSTON, Jan 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ Sterling Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:SBIB) announced today that its Board of Directors has promoted Travis L.Jaggers to the newly-created position of Executive Vice President and ChiefLending Officer of Sterling Bank.He was previously Sterling Bank's RegionalCEO for the Southeast Houston Region, a position which he has held sinceOctober 2001.From 1997 through September 2001 he served as CEO of Sterling'sGulf Freeway, Spencer Highway, and Deer Park Banking Centers.In his newposition, he is responsible for continuing to grow the Commercial and BusinessBanking in Sterling's markets: Houston, San Antonio, and North Texas."I have great admiration for Travis Jaggers as a commercial banker and aleader, but more importantly Travis has earned the respect and admiration ofhis co-workers, customers, and our entire Board of Directors," commented J.Downey Bridgwater, Sterling's Chairman, President, & Chief Executive Officer. "He will do an outstanding job leading our commercial and business bankingteams in this newly-created statewide position.""It is a privilege to serve in this capacity for Sterling Bank," Jaggers said."I am excited about the opportunity to help generate quality growth, helpingSterling to become the leading bank for small to medium-sized businesses inTexas."Jaggers, a native Texan, holds bachelor's and master's degrees from theUniversity of Houston in accounting and finance. He has been in banking for 38years, and previously served in executive positions with First Pasadena StateBank and Texas Commerce Bank (now JPMorgan Chase).He has been with SterlingBank for 12 years.About Sterling Bancshares Sterling Bancshares, Inc.

is a Houston-based bank holding company with totalassets of $4.9 billion, which operates 59 banking centers in the greatermetropolitan areas of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. TheCompany's common stock is traded through the NASDAQ Global Select Market underthe symbol "SBIB".For more information on Sterling Bancshares, please visitthe Company's web site at http:// More Information Contact:J. Wasson, Executive Vice President &Chief Financial Officer, (713) 507-1297SOURCESterling Bancshares, Inc.J. Downey Bridgwater, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer,1-713-507-2670, or Zach L.