Breaking Down Jeff Brohm's Hiring at Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Jeff Brohm era of Louisville football is about to begin.
The University of Louisville is set to hire the current Purdue head coach to be the program's next head coach, according to multiple reports. It is expected to be made official on Thursday following a 4:00 p.m. meeting of ULAA's Board of Directors.
UofL athletic director Josh Heird had a handful of options to chose from for the job, but Brohm was the clear frontrunner from the moment the job opened, and has been tied to the position for years. Now that the only thing left is board approval, which will happen, let's break down the pros and cons of the hire.
Before we get into benefits and drawbacks that Brohm provides from a football perspective, let's get into the importance of this hire when it comes to things away from the gridiron.
Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, and signs that appeared during Satterfield's four-year tenure now look like giant red flags when looking back in retrospect. But put quite simply, Satterfield and Louisville just never felt like a good fit. Coming from a place like App State, his small town background and stoic demeanor never seemed to mesh well with a program situated in the state's most populous city, and he never truly embraced it.
That couldn't be more obvious when he flirted with the South Carolina job after experiencing the first taste of success at Louisville, and the fact that he bolted for a seemingly lateral move in Cincinnati. Not to mention the constant questioning on if get "understood" the rivalry with Kentucky. Even during the second half of the 2022 season when Louisville was on a roll, fans were still not showing up to Cardinal Stadium.
That's not something you have to worry about with Brohm in the slightest, and there's a reason Jeff and his family are regarded as "the first family of Louisville Football." Brohm has Louisville ingrained into his DNA. He played at Trinity, was a star quarterback with the Cardinals under Howard Schnellenberger and kicked off his coaching career as an assistant at UofL.
Even if the coaching carousel was not in full swing, and guys like Deion Sanders, Alex Golesh, etc. were still available, no one would energize the Louisville fanbase like Brohm does. A large portion of the fanbase had been checked out, and this hire instantly injects a high amount of fan interest and buy-in heading into next season. Plus, Brohm is the exact opposite of Satterfield when it comes to sideline demeanor and overall energy level.
Alright, now let's get into what Brohm brings from a football standpoint.
While his 36-34 overall record at Purdue might not jump off the page, some context is needed. Brohm inherited a program that was completely lifeless and devoid of talent. Under previous head coach Darrell Hazell, the Boilermakers went just 9-39 during his four years at the helm. While Brohm did go 19-25 in his first with Purdue, he's gone 17-9 over the past two years.
He went 9-4 in 2021 including a 48-45 win over Tennessee in the 2021 Music City Bowl, and 8-5 so far this season, including Purdue's first ever Big Ten West title. The Boilermakers ultimately fell 43-22 to No. 2 Michigan in the Big Ten Championship.
Perhaps the most noteworthy benefit when it comes to Brohm is that his Purdue teams got up for the big games. The Boilermakers went 7-10 against top-25 opponent during the regular season, including 3-1 against top-five squads. Over the last two regular seasons, that mark was 4-2, including going 2-1 against top-five teams in 2021 alone.
What about the actual on-field product? Well, as you can imagine with his background as a former quarterback and offensive coordinator, Brohm is an offensive-minded coach. He's a creative and diverse play-caller, mixing in looks from out of the pistol, spread and the I-formation to keep opposing defenses on their toes.
Brohm relies *heavily* on the passing game. Purdue sported the 33rd- and 50th-ranked total offense in 2021 and 2022, respectively, but their passing offenses came in fifth and 17th nationally. Aidan O'Connell, a former walk-on, completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 3,490 yards and 22 touchdowns to 13 interceptions over the 2022 regular season.
Considering he is a Bobby Petrino understudy, he fully subscribes to the "feed the studs" school of thought. Wide receiver Charlie Jones' 1,361 receiving yards leads all of FBS, while his 12 receiving touchdowns are good for fourth. David Bell had 1,286 receiving yards in 2021 (plus a 1,035-yard season in 2020) and Rondale Moore had 1,258 receiving yards in 2018.
Even though Purdue has just 105th-ranked rushing offense so far this season, there is still potential there. Devin Mockobee, a two-star prospect out of high school and walk-on, tallied 952 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns this season to be named a Freshman All-American by College Football News.
That being said, Brohm does present some potential drawbacks. A theoretical argument against him is that it took until his sixth year to finally win the Big Ten West, which is arguably the worst division in Power Five football. Not to mention that on top of his teams' ability to get up for the big games, on the other side of that coin, Brohm has been prone to some inexplicable stinkers.
Some recent examples: After taking down No. 2 Iowa on the road in 2021 and jumping into the top 25, Purdue was then immediately blown out at home by an unranked Wisconsin. Questionable clock management and penalties galore in the final minutes gifted Syracuse a win over the Boilermakers earlier this season. In back-to-back games this year, Purdue got boat-raced by an interim head coach at Wisconsin and allowed a stagnant Iowa offense to dominate them.
Much like his Purdue teams, Brohm's recruiting while with the Boilermakers has also been up and down. He was able to secure a class ranked as high as No. 26 in 2019, but also had one ranked as low as 75th in 2021. His six full recruiting cycles, including 2023, have an average ranking 45th. That being said, he seems to be on board with NIL, and has excelled when it comes to getting some of the best recruits in the Louisville area.
Defense has lagged behind the offense under Brohm, but it has performed better than what many give it credit for. In fact, Purdue's total defense so far this season ranks 37th in FBS, and ranked 48th last season. Plus, of the three All-Americans that he has coached at Purdue, one of them was on defense in defensive end George Karlaftis. Moore and Bell were the other two.
To sum it all up, Brohm is a hire that just makes sense for the program, especially after some of the athletic department's finances were cleaned up by Cincinnati.
Is he a perfect coach? No. But he was able to win at a program that is incredibly difficult to win at, and is the only guy (outside of maybe Deion Sanders) that could have injected this much buzz and interest within the UofL fan base. He provides a style of play and demeanor that will resonate with what Louisville has been historically accustomed to.
If everything falls the right way, Brohm can provide what Louisville fans expect: A top-25 program on a yearly basis, with the potential for special seasons (contend for Atlantic Division or reach ACC Championship, double-digit wins, or maybe have an outside shot at the 12-team College Football Playoff) every few years.
(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Nikos Frazier - Journal & Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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