Louisville hires Purdue's Jeff Brohm as new head coach

Jeff Brohm is going home.

After six seasons at Purdue, Brohm has agreed to become the new head coach at Louisville, his alma mater and hometown university.

Louisville announced the hire on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed but ESPN reported Wednesday that Brohm's contract with UL spans six seasons and is "in the $35 million range."

Brohm’s father, Oscar, played quarterback at Louisville. His two brothers played at Louisville. Jeff was a star quarterback at Louisville. And now he is officially the head coach of the Cardinals.

"We're excited to welcome head coach Jeff Brohm and his family home to the University of Louisville," Louisville athletic director Josh Heird said. "The Brohms are synonymous with Louisville, and Jeff has made a lasting impact on our city as a high school star, college quarterback, professional athlete and coach. But beyond his ties to the city, what excites me most about Jeff is that he's had success at the highest level of college football."

Brohm turned down the Louisville job in 2018, feeling like he couldn’t leave Purdue after being there only two seasons. Now, after leading Purdue to a nine-win season in 2021 (its most in 18 seasons) and a Big Ten West title this season, Brohm decided the time was right to head back to Louisville.

"My family and I are honored to return home to the University of Louisville, a place we love, which has been so influential in shaping me as a player, a coach and a man," Brohm said. "These young men will make our university, our community, and our fan base proud to be Louisville Cardinals. This city means a great deal to me and my family. Louisville is who we are. Thank you all for welcoming us back home."

The Louisville job opened abruptly on Monday when Scott Satterfield left for Cincinnati. Satterfield was on thin ice for much of his four-year tenure at UL. He led a turnaround from 2-10 to 8-5 in his first season before back-to-back losing seasons in 2020 and 2021. There was also his infamous dalliance with the South Carolina job after the 2020 season that did not sit well with many Louisville powerbrokers.

Nonetheless, Satterfield trudged on and appeared set to return in 2023 as the Cardinals closed the 2022 season by winning five of seven games. Instead, he jumped at the opportunity for a fresh start at Cincinnati, opening the door for Louisville to pursue Brohm again.

Brohm went 36-34 in six seasons at Purdue, leading a struggling program to four bowl appearances and three winning seasons. The Boilermakers were 17-9 over the past two seasons. In the four seasons before Brohm's arrival, Purdue had a combined 9-39 record.

Before his time at Purdue, Brohm had a 30-10 record in three seasons at Western Kentucky, where he won two Conference USA titles. Before becoming a head coach, Brohm had stints as an assistant at UAB, Illinois, Florida Atlantic and, of course, Louisville from 2003 to 2008.