Reports: Louisville Hiring Dale Williams as Offensive Line Coach

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Head coach Jeff Brohm is bringing back a familiar face to complete his coaching staff heading into year four with the Louisville football program.

The Cardinals are hiring Dale Williams to be their next offensive line coach, according to reports from On3's Pete Nakos and CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. He replaces Richard Owens, who was hired by Alabama to be their next tight ends coach earlier this month.

Williams has spent time working under Brohm at Louisville, Purdue and Western Kentucky, and most recently spent the last two seasons at the offensive line coach at Syracuse. While he was among several assistants not retained by Orange head coach Fran Brown following a disappointing 2025 season, he played a role in helping Cuse go 10-3 during their 2024 campaign. That season, their 4.92 tackles for loss allowed ranked 44th in the FBS, while their 2.23 sacks allowed per game was 80th.

Prior to his two-year stint in Upstate New York, Williams served as a senior quality control coach for Louisville during the 2023 season. That year, the Cards went 10-4, including clinching their first ever berth in the ACC Championship Game.

Before that, Williams had previously been Brohm's offensive line coach during all six of his seasons as the head coach of the Boilermakers. He has also served as the offensive line coach in Brohm's final season as the head coach of the Hilltoppers in 2016.

Williams also has collegiate coaching experience at Florida Atlantic, Findlay, Gardner-Webb, North Greenville College and his alma matter of West Virginia. He was a three-year letterman and two-year starter at WVU.

After having minimal coaching staff movement over the first two years under Brohm, Louisville has seen a decent amount this offseason. Not only did Owens leave for Alabama, tight ends coach Ryan Wallace left for Oregon State, defensive line coach Mark Hagen joined him in Corvallis after he was not retained, while defensive coordinator and safeties coach Ron English is taking a year off from coaching.

Fortunately, Brohm has now officially filled every spot that has opened up to this point with Williams' hiring. Mark Ivey is making the move to defensive line coach, while he and cornerbacks coach Steve Ellis will be co-defensive coordinators. Paul Petrino is taking over as tight ends coach, while quality control coaches Adam Mueller and Brandon Sharp were promoted to linebackers and safeties coaches, respectively.

Brohm has also made a handful of ancillary hires to his defensive staff as well. ULM defensive ends coach Jontavius Morris was brought back to help coach the defensive tackles, Indiana State defensive coordinator David Elson was hired as an unspecified defensive assistant, Bowling Green secondary coach Derrick Jackson is joining Louisville as a senior defensive assistant, and Murray State defensive line coach Me’Leick Miles was hired to a defensive quality control/recruiting role.

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