LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's official. Jeff Brohm will return to his alma mater of University of Louisville to lead their football program, UofL Vice-President/Director of Athletics Josh Heird announced on Thursday.
The job opened on Monday when coach Scott Satterfield left to take a job at the University of Cincinnati. Deion Branch, Louisville’s director of player development, will guide the team on an interim basis for the bowl game.
ESPN's Chris Low reports that Brohm's deal would be in the $35 million range and would be for 6 years. The Louisville native will be the 24th head coach in UofL's history. Officials say Brohm's No. 11 jersey is one of 26 to be honored by the program throughout its history.
"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.
He has been at Purdue University for the past six years and he most recently led the team to a Big Ten Championship. The Boilermakers are coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2006-07.
In Thursday's press conference, Brohm called his tenure a “wonderful six years" and said Purdue is his home away from home. But he says his heart has always been in Louisville and that this isn’t a job to him, it’s a way of life.
Brohm says Purdue told him to name the price and years to keep him. He says he told them this move wasn’t about that.
He compiled a 36-34 overall mark with Purdue. Officials say he led the program to "notable victories," posting three wins over Top 3 teams: No. 2 Ohio State in 2018, No. 2 Iowa in 2021 and No. 3 Michigan State in 2021.
"I promise relentless energy, effort, and hard work every single day on behalf of all our coaches, staff and student-athletes. Our goal is to compete for championships while also developing our student-athletes into true leaders on and off the field," Brohm said.
According to a press release, in his nine seasons as a head coach he has a career record of 66-44 and a .600 winning percentage. His passing offenses have placed in the top 20 in eight of his nine seasons as an FBS coach, which ranked 13th on average over that span.
Brohm is a former Trinity High School and UofL star quarterback. The press release states that at Trinity High he was named the "Kentucky High School Player of the Decade" for the 1980s. Brohm was inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2014.
In addition, he played eight seasons in the NFL and XFL before returning to become quarterbacks coach with the Cardinals under Bobby Petrino and Steve Kragthorpe, eventually becoming offensive coordinator.
"These young men will make our university, our community, and our fan base proud to be Louisville Cardinals," Brohm said. "This city means a great deal to me and my family. Louisville is who we are. Thank you all for welcoming us back home."
Watch the full press conference here:
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
Sign up for the WHAS11 newsletter: "WHAS Up Kentuckiana." Get the latest headlines and videos from around Kentuckiana delivered daily to your inbox.