Report: Louisville Hires Georgia Southern's Richard Owens as Next OL Coach
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Jeff Brohm is one step closer to finalizing his first assistant coaching staff as the head coach of the Louisville football program, and another former Cardinal is coming home in the process
Louisville has hired Georgia Southern offensive line coach Richard Owens to the same position with the Cardinals, according to a report from 247Sports' Brandon Marcello.
Owens spent just one season in Statesboro, Ga., but he orchestrated a dramatic turnaround on the Eagles' offensive line. After ranking 72nd in sacks allowed per game and 89th in tackles for loss per game in 2021, Georgia Southern ranked second in all of FBS in both categories for the 2022 season, giving up just seven sacks and 46 tackles for loss all season long.
The Eagles saw a pair of offensive lineman earn All-Sun Belt honors for the 2022 season. Right guard Khalil Crowder received a Second-Team selection, right tackle while Caleb Kelly was named to the Third Team. Their efforts helped Georgia Southern finish the season with the 19th-ranked offense at 465.9 yards per game.
Before his lone season with Georgia Southern and a two-year stint with UAB, Owens served as Louisville's tight ends coach and director of on-campus recruiting during the 2018 season. He also played for the Cardinals from 1999 to 2003 under both John L. Smith and Bobby Petrino.
Following the end of a six-year professional playing career in the NFL with the Vikings, Rams and Jets, Owens got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Arkansas from 2010 to 2012. He spent the 2012 to 2014 seasons with UAB, and the 2015 to 2017 seasons at South Alabama.
Brohm has hired six position assistants away from his previous stop at Purdue, with four of them having been officially announced. Wide receivers coach Garrick McGee, running backs coach Chris Barclay and tight ends coach Ryan Wallace all opted to follow Brohm to the Cardinals and were hired to their respective position. Co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Ron English has also been officially announced, but his exact title at UofL has yet to be determined.
Boilermakers offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Brohm and co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Mark Hagen have also been reported to be making the transition to Louisville, but have yet to be officially announced.
Louisville finished the 2022 season with an overall mark of 8-5 (4-4 in ACC), including a 24-7 win in the Fenway Bowl over Cincinnati.
(Photo via Matt McGavic - Louisville Report)
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