Strong took over a Louisville program that Kragthorpe was slowly driving into the ground, led them to a couple so-so season, then had a good, 10-win year by winning a lot of close games. Kragthorpe left him classes that were evenly split between 2 and 3 stars, so not a lot of talent. You have to give him respect for winning 10 close games against teams with similar talent this season. That's what sticks out to me. Multiple people have said that Tennessee is loaded with talent. Strong is what they need right now, someone who knows how to win close games to start building back up the record. Is he a home-run hire? No, but who would be? Besides Gundy, the only other realistic coach that would have been a home-run hire from a successful, major program is David Shaw, but Shaw doesn't have any recruiting ties in the south.
Sidenote: I looked up Shaw and Strong and assumed Shaw was older. Nope, Shaw is 12 years younger.