The Pros and Cons of Hiring Louisville's Jeff Brohm at Penn State

Brohm has the Cardinals in contention for a College Football Playoff berth. Would he leave his alma mater for Penn State?

Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm looks on before the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Lane Stadium. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Penn State has embarked on one of college football’s most high-profile coaching searches to replace James Franklin, who was fired Oct. 12. Athletic Director Pat Kraft promised a nationwide search for the coach he said possesses a “vision of championships.”

Penn State is hiring a football coach for the first time since 2014, when Franklin replaced Bill O’Brien. It’s a situation no one thought Penn State would be in this year, but there’s certainly talent to choose from.   

We’re scouring the list of candidates for the opening at Penn State. In the latest edition of our profile series, we spotlight Louisville coach Jeff Brohm and whether he’s a fit for the Nittany Lions.  

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Jeff Brohm at a glance

Louisville coach Jeff Brohm at the Card March before the Louisville Cardinals vs. Boston College Eagles game. | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

• School: Louisville 

• Age: 54  

• Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky

• Head coaching experience: Third season at Louisville, six years at Purdue, three years at Western Kentucky

• Where he has coached: Brohm has extensive offensive coaching experience. He began his college career at Louisville, his alma mater, as the quarterbacks coach in 2003 and rose to coordinator by 2008. Brohm left Louisville in 2009 to begin a five-year road toward becoming a head coach. After stops on the offensive staffs at Florida Atlantic, Illinois and UAB, Brohm landed at Western Kentucky as an assistant in 2013 and became head coach in 2014. Brohm went 30-10 as Western Kentucky’s head coach before taking over at Purdue, where he went 36-34 in six seasons. 

RELATED: The pros and cons of hiring Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz at Penn State

What to know about Jeff Brohm

Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm reacts on the sideline against the Miami Hurricanes during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Brohm has Louisville on pace to record its third straight season with at least nine wins. In 2023 he led the Cardinals to their first ACC title game, one year after guiding Purdue to its first Big Ten West title.  

Brohm has won at tough places. He went 12-2 at Western Kentucky, 9-4 at Purdue and is 26-9 at Louisville. He also had more wins (three) at Purdue over top-5 teams than Franklin did at Penn State (one). 

Further, he was a pretty good player at Louisville. Brohm was the team's three-year starting quarterback in the early 1990s and still ranks among the porgram's leaders in passing efficiency, completion percentage, touchdown passes and total offense. Brohm also played eight years in the NFL and was an All-XFL quarterback in Orlando.

RELATED: The pros and cons of hiring Texas A&M's Mike Elko at Penn State

Why Jeff Brohm would fit at Penn State

Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm calls out instructions during the second quarter against the Virginia Cavaliers. | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Brohm has coached elite offensive talent, notably at wide receiver. The list includes Rondale Moore and David Bell at Purdue, Ja’Corey Brooks at Louisville last season and Chris Bell this season.   

Also notable, Brohm’s 2024 quarterback at Louisville, Tyler Shough, was selected 40th overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 2025 NFL Draft. The highest quarterback selected in the Franklin era was Christian Hackenberg in 2016 at 51st overall. Brohm can develop and produce offensive talent and has been called one of college football's top offensive minds. 

And though Brohm is an offensive-minded coach, he’s winning at Louisville this season with defense. Louisville has the ACC’s top-ranked total defense (280.5 yards per game) and the third-ranked scoring defense (20.8 points). Only one team, Virginia, has scored 30 points against the Cardinals this season.  

Additionally, Kraft has said that he wants a coach who can attack the transfer portal. Brohm can do that. He had the 12th-ranked transfer class in 2023 and 14th in 2024.  

RELATED: The pros and cons of hiring Ohio State's Brian Hartline at Penn State

Why Jeff Brohm might not fit at Penn State

It might be hard to convince Brohm to leave Louisville. He continues to build the program into a contender and looks to get the Cardinals into the playoff this season. Before Brohm, Louisville last won 10 games in 2013. Leaving his alma mater after building it into a potential playoff team isn’t as likely as many think. 

Additionally, Brohm would need to expand his recruiting footprint at a larger Big Ten program. Brohm has had one top-12 class in the ACC (4th in 2023). His 2026 and 2027 recruiting classes currently rank 7th and 11th, according to the 247Sports Composite, behind ACC schools like Clemson, Florida State and Miami. The recruiting competition gets tougher against Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon. 

Bottom line

Brohm could wind up being a good hire for Penn State. He brought Louisville from the middle of the ACC to near the top in just his third year. And he has won at three different programs where winning is historically difficult. 

What Brohm has done with the Cardinals is enticing and begs the question: What could he do with the upgraded resources at Penn State? If some of the big names aren’t available, Brohm would be a good fit.

Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm participates in the CardMarch before the game the Virginia Cavaliers. | Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images