Elite college football program loses on another major coaching contender

One of the last major head coaching candidates left in college football's active coaching carousel has elected to stay at his current post.

Penn State loses out on another head coaching target in its ongoing struggle to replace James Franklin. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Another big name in the college football coaching carousel has withdrawn his name from circulation in what has been an historic realignment in the coaching ranks.

Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm has informed his superiors that he is not exploring any other job offers and will stay at the school going forward, according to a new report from Sports Illustrated college football insider Pat Forde.

Brohm had been mentioned during the cycle as a potential candidate for a number of high-profile coaching positions, but as those jobs were filled, it became increasingly likely that he would stay at his alma mater instead.

Another miss for Penn State?

Brohm was reportedly a target for the Nittany Lions program in its ongoing saga trying to replace James Franklin, who the school fired from the position in October.

Penn State presented Brohm with the terms of a prospective deal, but in the end the Louisville head man liked what he had at home more, according to the SI report.

In particular, the coach did not feel comfortable leaving Louisville on the same day the program was signing a new recruiting class, Forde revealed.

Brohm's decision follows two other notable moves

News of Brohm’s decision to stay follows a similar development at BYU the day before, when Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake elected to remain at his current position when Penn State had been in contact with him.

And it comes after the revelation that Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline had decided to become the next head coach at USF starting next season.

Brohm and Hartline were not considered primary targets for Penn State, but as potential contingency plans who were worth looking into. Now both are out of the picture, as is Brohm.

PSU's options landed somewhere else

Other names like Mike Elko (stayed at Texas A&M, Eli Drinkwitz (stayed at Missouri), Clark Lea (stayed at Vanderbilt), and Brent Key (stayed at Georgia Tech) were also named coaches of interest.

Jon Sumrall was another, but the Tulane coach is headed to Florida. Likewise for Ryan Silverfield, who left Memphis for Arkansas. Alex Golesh will depart USF for Auburn.

What Jeff Brohm has done

Louisville completed an 8-4 regular season in 2025 and is headed for a bowl game, bringing Brohm’s total record to 27-12 at the school over three seasons.

He led the Cardinals to a 10-4 mark and made an appearance in the ACC Championship Game in his first year at the school.

Brohm landed at Louisville following a successful tenure at Purdue, where he went 36-34 and played in a Big Ten championship game back in 2022.