Report: Louisville 'Finalizing' Deal with Purdue's Jeff Brohm
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Just two days after Scott Satterfield opted to leave for Cincinnati, the University of Louisville's search for a new football head coach coach could soon be coming to a close.
UofL is "in the process of finalizing a deal" with Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm, according to a report from ESPN's Chris Low. Low also reports that Brohm's deal would be in the range of six years and $35 million.
Should talks not fall through, Brohm will become the 22nd permanent head coach in program history.
Not only did Brohm become the frontrunner for the position the instant it became open earlier this week, he has been tied to job for years. He was Louisville's top target following the firing of Bobby Petrino after the 2018 season, but famously turned down the Cardinals out of loyalty to the Boilermakers. There was also rampant speculation regarding Brohm-to-Louisville following the Cards' embarrassing home loss to Kentucky to end the 2021 regular season.
There's a reason Brohm has been tied to this job for as long as he has, and why an extremely vocal segment of the Louisville fan base has been clamoring for him. Born and raised in the Derby City, the Brohms are considered football royalty in the city of Louisville and staples of the community, with Jeff having previously both played as a player and coached as an assistant with the Cardinals.
There's also the head coaching experience. Inherting a Purdue program that had gone 9-39 in the previous four year, Brohm has guided the Boilermakers to a 36-34 overall record and 26-25 record in Big Ten play in his six years at the helm, including 8-5 with a Big Ten West title this year. Under Brohm, Purdue went 7-11 against top-25 opponents, including a 3-1 mark against top-five opponents.
Prior to his time in West Lafayette, Ind., Brohm spent three years as the head coach at Western Kentucky, guiding the Hilltoppers to a 30-10 overall record. He also served in various assistant roles at at Florida Atlantic, Illinois and UAB. Before landing his first head coaching gig in Bowling Green, Ky.
Following the end of his professional playing career in both the NFL and XFL, Brohm returned to Louisville to kickstart his foray into college coaching. He was the quarterbacks coach from 2003 to 2006 under Bobby Petrino, as well as the assistant head coach in 2007 and 2008 under Steve Kragthorpe - while also serving as the offensive coordinator in '08.
Brohm was a standout quarterback at Trinity High School, winnning Kentucky Mr. Football as a senior. He would go on to play for Howard Schnellenberger at Louisville from 1989 to 1993, starting his final two years as a Cardinal. In his redshirt senior season, he guided UofL to a 9-3 overall record, including an 18-7 win over Michigan State in the Liberty Bowl.
(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Christopher Hanewinckel - USA TODAY Sports)
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