LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) — The search for the University of Louisville’s next head football coach continues after Jeff Brohm declined an offer to leave Purdue and join his alma mater.
Now, Athletic Director Vince Tyra and company have their eyes set on Scott Satterfield, the current head football coach at Appalachian State. Satterfield has led App State since 2013, taking the Mountaineers to three straight bowl games and nearly upsetting several power conference teams.
Scott Satterfield
Like Brohm, Satterfield played quarterback at App State in the ‘90s and was a quarterback coach and offensive coordinator at his alma mater before taking a head coaching job. Satterfield has gone 50-24 as a head coach and finished the last three seasons either in sole possession or tied for first in the Sun Belt Conference.
In both the 2016 and 2017 season, the Mountaineers rose to national prominence as they marked the fewest points allowed in conference play in the FBS and ranked second in the nation in fewest sacks allowed, respectively. This year, the Mountaineers rank in the top 50 in the NCAA in both total offense and total defense. App State's defense is third in the nation and their rushing offense is 14th.
While Satterfield is the favorite to replace Bobby Petrino, the most updated coaching list features three other coaches: Luke Fickell of Cincinnati, Mike Norvell of Memphis and Matt Wells of Utah State.
Luke Fickell
Luke Fickell, the current head football coach at the University of Cincinnati, turned around the program after the resigning of previous coach Tommy Tuberville. In only his second season with the team, Fickell converted a 4-8 team to 10-2, finishing the regular season in third place and earning Fickell the American Athletic Conference’s Coach of the Year.
Fickell also previously coached at Ohio State, his alma mater, under Jim Tressel. The team’s defensive coordinator in their 2011 season, Fickell also replaced Tressel as interim head coach when Tressel resigned amid NCAA investigations into players being paid during his tenure.
Fickell was born and raised in Ohio, and could help Louisville’s recruitment into the state. Additionally, a defensively-minded head coach could immediately help what was, statistically, one of the worst defenses in the FBS. In 2018, Louisville ranked 122th of 129 schools in total defense, while Cincinnati was in the top 10.
Mike Norvell
Another option for the Cards, Mike Norvell, currently sits in the same conference as Fickell’s Bearcats. Norvell replaced current Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente at Memphis in 2016, leading the Tigers to bowl games in all three seasons. Norvell is one of the highest paid coaches outside of the Power Five conference.
Norvell’s Memphis team ranks sixth in the NCAA in total offense while Louisville’s 2018 team is in the bottom 30. As a play-caller at Arizona State and a head coach at Memphis, Norvell seems to adapt his offense according to the strength of his players which could be helpful to a rebuilding Cards team.
Matt Wells
Similarly, Matt Wells at Utah State has created one of the best offensive teams in the nation. In 2018, Utah State ranked 11th in total offense, 13th in team passing efficiency and third in scoring offense (behind only Oklahoma and Alabama).
Before Wells left to coach on the west coast, he was also quarterback coach and passing game coordinator at Louisville in Steve Kragthorpe’s last season.
As the Georgia Tech, Texas Tech and presumably other head coaching spots open, several other names will pass through the rumor mill, but these four lead Louisville’s search list. WHAS11 will update as more information is released.
