For the first time since the 2016-17 season, the Louisville Cardinals football program is 4-0. During that season those seven years ago, Louisville was lead by head coach Bobby Petrino, then in his second stint with Louisville, and featured star players in quarterback Lamar Jackson and cornerback Jaire Alexander. The Cardinals reached as high as No. 3 in the country and Jackson was well on his way to a Heisman Trophy. Louisville was back to national relevance on the gridiron and was not looking back.
It did not last.
Jackson and Alexander would depart for the NFL after the 2017 season and Petrino would be fired on Nov. 11, 2018 after an abysmal 2-8 start just a year removed from the star talent of Jackson and Alexander. The Cardinals would lose their final two games, finishing 2-10, and begin a search for their new head coach.
For the next four years, Cardinals fans would experience more ups and downs than they could ever have imagined, while their football program was under the reign of Scott Satterfield.
Satterfield spent the six seasons prior to taking the Louisville job at the helm of Appalachian State. He lead App State to a 51-24 record, multiple conference titles and a 3-0 bowl record before coming to Louisville. Fast forward four years, and Satterfield would leave the Louisville job with a record of 25-24, zero conference titles, and a 1-1 record in bowl games. Heading into year four, it was arguable if Satterfield had job pressure, but it was no secret he had quality of life pressure. And after another up and down year, Satterfield left Louisville for their old rival Cincinnati on Dec. 5, 2022. It was a shock to both fan bases, as discussions and the deal that followed were made in such a short period of time, but most of Card Nation rejoiced.
After Satterfield’s departure, Louisville was on their second coaching search in five years. Only this time, it was (almost) certain who would be wearing the Cardinal red and black on the gridiron next fall. The search only lasted two days. What exactly happened by day two?
They brought Brohm home.
Jeffrey Scott Brohm was born in Louisville, KY in 1971. During his high school years, he became one of the best players in the state, playing quarterback for Trinity High School. Brohm was recruited by and played for legendary Louisville coach Howard Schnellenberger. He attended Louisville from 1989 to 1993, winning the starting job in his third season. After suffering injury in that third year, keeping him out a majority of games, Brohm returned in year four and would play in every game in his final two years.
In 1993, the Cardinals went 8-3 in the regular season, with big wins against No. 23 Arizona State and rival Memphis State. It was Brohm’s best season as a starter yet, ending his Cardinal career on a high note. Louisville would finish the season with a comeback victory over the Michigan State Spartans in the Liberty Bowl. Brohm and co. were down 7-3 heading into the fourth quarter. Louisville went on to score 15 unanswered points in that final 15 minutes and win 18-7. Brohm won MVP of the game, which was the cherry on top of an already great legacy in the city of Louisville.
Brohm went undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft but would sign with the San Diego Chargers and go on to play seven years in the NFL with five different organizations. Arguably the most famous point of his professional football career came in 2001 while playing for the Orlando Rage of the XFL. Coming back a week later from a brutal sack attempt, which resulted in a hospital visit, Brohm was asked why he came back to play so soon.
“Let’s play football.”
Such a simple yet powerful message from Brohm, and it is a mentality that sticks with him and his players today.
After his years playing professionally, Brohm would return to Louisville in 2003 as an assistant coach under Petrino who was the Cardinal’s new head coach. He would serve Petrino, and later on Steve Kragthorpe, at Louisville under positions such as QB coach, assistant head coach, passing game coordinator, and offensive coordinator.
Brohm left Louisville in 2009 and spent the next five years at four different jobs before landing the Western Kentucky head coaching position in 2014.
An outstanding 30-10 record while leading the Hilltoppers made them one of the fiercest non-Power 5 football teams in the country, and Brohm one of the hottest candidates for a better job. He finished his stay in Bowling Green with two Conference USA titles, two bowl game victories and a finishing his second season ranked in the final AP poll.
On Dec. 5, 2016, Brohm was hired at Purdue to save a dying Big Ten program. The Boilermakers had gone an abysmal 9-39 in the prior four seasons under Darrell Hazell and needed a change. Purdue got what they wanted. A 7-6 record including a bowl win is how Brohm’s first season at Purdue went, followed up with a 5-4 Big Ten record in his second year. In his final two seasons in West Lafayette, Brohm led his squad to a 17-9 record and a 12-6 record in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers won the West Division and played for the Big Ten championship last season. They would go down to Michigan in that championship game, ending Brohm’s stay in a loss, but what he did for the team in black and gold was unthinkable when he took the job. He completely turned the program around.
But can he do it again?
Dec. 7, 2022 was a day for celebration in the city of Louisville. Jeff Brohm was coming home to be the head coach for his alma mater. After loads of success at the Group of Five and at the Power 5 levels, Brohm was the number one guy on Louisville’s list to hire as the head coach of their football program.
During Brohm’s introductory press conference at Cardinal Stadium, Louisville Athletic Director joked about Brohm’s coaching success saying, “I’ve been in the AD role for 366 days now. Jeff, you’ve made my life harder for 365 of them.” Laughs and claps from the Cardinal faithful in attendance erupted because the humorous statement held a lot of truth. Fans have pushed for Brohm to be the head coach since the position was open when Satterfield took the job. Brohm declined an offer from the Cardinals back then but could not say no now.
“It’s without question a humbling experience to be up here in front of you guys,” Brohm said to the crowd. “I take this job very seriously, and I look forward to years to come. It is great to be back here.”
He went on to thank and shoutout plenty of people including his family and high school football coach, along with explaining his mindset heading into the job. “In my opinion to win at a high level, everyone has to do their part,” Brohm said. “I like football. And I also like to win.”
And then Brohm finished his speech the only way he knew how. He knew it was coming, his family knew it was coming, and the Cardinal faithful in attendance and watching at home knew it was coming.
“So I guess I’ll finish with one thing I normally like to say. And that is, let’s play football.”
Louisville had a wonderful first offseason under Brohm. He managed to keep momentum in recruiting for the class of 2023, keeping a top 35 class coming in headlined by re-class linebacker commit TJ Capers, and quarterback Pierce Clarkson who started the recruiting momentum for the class of ‘23 in early 2022. Brohm also went hard in the transfer portal brining in the No. 12 class featuring four 4-star transfers.
The transfer everyone had questions about and highlighted on the transfer list was Cal transfer quarterback Jack Plummer. Plummer played under Brohm at Purdue for his first three years before transferring to Cal last season. He put up over 3,000 passing yards at Cal, which was a good thing to see for Cards fans, and he knows what it is like in a Jeff Brohm offense and would have the experience there too. Plummer was a low-rated portal player but everyone knew he would be the starter, so there were certainly wonders of how he would perform back with his old coach in the red and black.
Arguably most important though, Brohm managed to keep many key pieces from last year’s team from transferring out. Running backs Jawhar Jordan and Maurice Turner, receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, and linemen Renato Brown and Bryan Hudson are some major offensive pieces that Brohm managed to keep. On the defensive side, lineman Ashton Gillotte, linebacker Jaylin Alderman, and backs Ben Perry, Quincy Riley, Jarvis Brownlee Jr, MJ Griffin, and Josh Minkins are all back for the Cardinals in 2023. These guys have been big performers for Louisville, whether it be just last season or multiple, and it was great for Brohm to get them to stay.
Louisville had its spring game on April 21, 2023 and was the first real look at the Cardinals during the off-season. Plenty of fans were in attendance for the matchup ready to see the progress thus far.
It was in an offense vs. defense split in which the teams gained points from different achievements on their respective sides. The defense had a wonderful outing, winning the matchup 51-30. Brohm and his previous teams were always known for their offensive prowess, but the spring game was an indicator that Louisville would possibly have a good defense.
Louisville started their season against Georgia Tech in Atlanta in the 2023 Aflac Kickoff Game. The defense got right to work. An interception on the first drive of the day got Louisville tremendous field position. Unfortunately, after a few bad passing plays, a field goal was all the Cards could come away with. Much of the same offensive woes and defensive joys were ongoing, as Louisville ended the first 15-minutes with just a 6-0 lead.
The second quarter became one to forget for the Cardinal faithful. Georgia Tech scored 28 points to just seven from Louisville, leaving Cardinals fans asking many questions with a 28-13 halftime deficit. Was the defense not as good as we thought? Was Plummer the guy? There was no doubts toward Brohm, it was his first game in a hostile environment. However, it was certainly true fans wanted quick solutions to the woes happening on both sides of the ball.
They got their solutions.
The entire second half was all Cards as Louisville would score 26 unanswered points until the final minute of the game. Georgia State transfer wide receiver Jamari Thrash showed out in the second half, using his speed and playmaking to score two touchdowns. The biggest spark of the game for Louisville came with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Defensive lineman Dez Tell got a huge sack that caused a fumble recovered by Louisville. And on the first play from the Louisville offense, Jawhar Jordan broke away for a 74-yard touchdown. Cardinal fans in Atlanta and at home roared with excitement as Louisville fought and regained the lead. Georgia Tech scored a touchdown with 1:07 to go, but after a failed onside kick, Plummer would have two kneel downs to end the game. Louisville wins 39-34.
Jeff Brohm is 1-0.
Welcome back home, Coach! It is your first game back under the lights in Louisville with roaring Cards fans cheering you on. The Murray State Racers are coming to town. You better show the fans what your team can really do!
My oh my.
In only his second game at the helm of the Cardinals, Brohm led his squad to a shutout. The Cardinals beat the Racers 56-0 in front of a roaring packed crowd. The game was on a Thursday night, and it was against an FCS team. Usually, a packed crowd is not something you would hear about among those circumstances. But this is Jeff Brohm’s first home game. It was expected.
Louisville had six different players score touchdowns, five different quarterbacks complete a pass, and nine total quarterbacks play in the game. It seemed like every member of the team played a snap in the game, which is not a bad thing. Multiple guys that are lower on the depth chart had great outings. Tight end Joey Gatewood had a 34-yard touchdown catch, and running back Keyjuan Brown had 11 carries for 65 yards and a touchdown as well.
“Proud of our football team today,” Brohm said postgame. “I thought we came out and did exactly what we needed to do. Which was execute better, find ways to score points, and keep them out of the endzone. We were fortunate to play a lot of guys on the field.” His team did extremely well in all three points and dominated the Racers, sending them off with a goose egg on their three hour drive back home.
Jeff Brohm is 2-0.
The third game of the season sent the Cardinals up to Indianapolis to face Indiana. Brohm had his battles with Indiana while at Purdue. He went 4-1 against the Hoosiers while at Purdue. Purdue had a total margin of victory of 65 points, while only losing by 3 in the lone loss in 2019.
The final two games of this originally three game series were canceled not long ago, but this game was happening. Louisville was ready. Cards fans stormed Lucas Oil Stadium ready to watch their team beat the Hoosiers. Going by an eye test inside the stadium, there were a lot more red and black than there was crimson and cream. The previous regime would not have drawn such a crowd up to Indy. Brohm had his team 2-0 and was making people excited about Cardinal football again. The culture was changing.
Louisville started hot and went up 21-0 on Indiana right before halftime. The team in crimson had something to say about it though, as Indiana scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter putting some worry in Louisville fans. In the previous four seasons, Cardinals fans were accustomed to this type of game. Gain a big lead, not be able to hang on, fall apart, lose.
Not this time. Not this year. Similar to the Georgia Tech game, Louisville showed fight. With 4:39 left in the game, Indiana was on the 1-yard line going for it on a crucial 4th and goal. Hoosier running back Josh Henderson ran up the middle to try for the touchdown, but he was impressively halted by Louisville freshman linebacker Stanquan Clark and veteran linebacker TJ Quinn.
Louisville went back on offense with 4:38 left, and four first downs and one kneel down later, Louisville wins 21-14.
Jeff Brohm is 3-0.
The Jack Plummer game. That’s the only way to start talking this game. Through the first three games of the season, the Cal transfer looked more and more comfortable on every snap of every game. This game, he looked like a heisman candidate.
Brohm is known for his expertise at the quarterback position, being that he was one, and his ability to elevate their games. This game was one for the ages for Plummer. He threw 18/21 for 388 yards and five touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown on a wild scramble. HE won multiple national player of the week awards, including ACC Quarterback of the Week & the Manning Award Star Player of the Week. If Plummer has the ability to keep this up for the rest of the season, look out ACC.
The Cardinals got up big against the Golden Eagles early, surging to a 28-0 lead before BC finally scored with 5:38 left in the second quarter. The Cardinals would finished the half up 42-14, dominating their second conference opponent on the year.
The second half was a draw between the two teams, each scoring 14 points, but the Cardinals had nothing to be ashamed of. Sure, things got a little sloppy at times and the second half was not as pristine as the first, but the Cards won handily 56-28. Great showings from obviously Plummer, but also Jordan, Thrash and Huggins-Bruce were great to see for the Louisville offense. The defense also got three sacks, two of which came from Gillotte. Cardinals are improving every game.
Jeff Brohm is 4-0.
The Cardinals have a rough stretch of games ahead to finish the season. They will face ranked opponents in Notre Dame, Duke and Miami. They will face familiar conference foes in NC State on Friday, and later on Pitt and Virginia. Then at the end of the season, they will face arch rival Kentucky who has dominated the series in recent years. If there is anyone who understands the importance of that game though, it is Jeff Brohm. If there is anyone who understands the importance of winning, it is Jeff Brohm. And if there is anyone who understands the Louisville football program, it is Jeff Brohm.
Jeff Brohm is home, and he is 4-0. The culture is changing in the Ville.
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