Scott Satterfield brings promise of final culture overhaul to Louisville

Scott Satterfield was officially named Louisville football’s new head coach in a press conference on Tuesday, completing Louisville’s new triumvirate of athletic department powers.

Scott Satterfield is bringing a complete overhaul to the Louisville football program. If not in the wins and losses column, at least in terms of a renovation of culture. That is what many Louisville fans took away from his opening press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Satterfield spent most of the last 24 hours- which he described in great detail as sleepless and hectic- preparing to bring his family to town, and checking out his new digs.

Throughout a 45 minute barraging of questions from local media, Satterfield answered excitedly, but completely and thoroughly- a stark contrast from his predecessor.

But, maybe most importantly of all, Satterfield preached about two things: discipline and culture.

During Vince Tyra’s extensive coaching search, he spoke often about finding a coach who was going to bring the right culture and attitude to the program- one who “wanted us as bad as we wanted him.”

“You feel a mutual love for the situation and the decision,” Tyra said of the call he made to offer Satterfield the job on Monday. “I felt like, when I was calling him up, I was as anxious to hear his voice as he was to hear mine.”

Satterfield certainly seems to want to be in Louisville as badly as Louisville wants him- or at least as bad as Louisville wants change. And there was no doubt that Satterfield wanted to be on that stage speaking to his new team and new fans.

Satterfield said that he lives by two core values:

1. Project positive energy

“In this world, there’s so much negativity out there it drives you crazy. Everybody’s doubting you, everybody’s downing you, (but) that fuels me and it’s going to fuel our football team.”

2. Trust and Respect

“There’s 11 guys on the football field, but, when I’m out there, I am playing for the other 10. It’s not about me, it’s about the other 10.”

You could not pick two head football coach with a more polar opposite ways of thinking than Bobby Petrino and Scott Satterfield- And Don’t underestimate how intentional Vince Tyra was when making this hire.

Tyra was intentional, because he had to be if we want to avoid a trip down memory lane.

Let’s flash back to two years ago:

• Louisville’s head football coach was Bobby Petrino- a man who is not well respected in any circles outside of the Louisville Metro. Petrino flirted with leaving Louisville on multiple occasions during his first stint as head coach from 2003-2007, became embroiled in a scandal with a staffer at Arkansas, and somehow made his way back to Louisville in 2014.
• The basketball program was amidst it’s 3rd scandal in a decade under Rick Pitino, and facing two separate NCAA investigations and an FBI probe to boot. No biggie.
• The Athletic department was led by Tom Jurich- a name that is well-respected across the country and, until very recently, was of legendary status in Louisville. Still, Jurich turned a blind eye to the negative publicity that his coaches brought the school- which ultimately became his own demise.
• University President, James Ramsey, was encompassed by scandals of his own- a “Mexican costume” debacle, improper allocation of funds, and covering up of wrongdoings of other faculty members.

Yet, here we are in December of 2018, and we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We have a new president, Neeli Bendapudi, who is one of the sharpest, strong-willed, yet lovely and down-to-earth people that you will ever meet.

Louisville’s new basketball coach, Chris Mack, could be described as tailor-made for the job. He has revitalized the program’s attitude and work ethic in a matter of 8 months, and already notched a top-10 win to boot.

New Athletic Director, Vince Tyra, knocks every single press conference, hire, and recruiting visit (yes, recruiting visit) out of the park.

And now, finally, the last black eye on the program has been removed. With the addition of Scott Satterfield, those around the University of Louisville can breathe a sigh of relief.

Mix in Louisville’s new hires with a tremendous foundation established by coaches like women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz, baseball coach Dan McDonnell, and men’s soccer coach Ken Lolla- all incredible people in their own rights- and you have, hands down, the most impressive line-up of coaches in the country. More importantly, though, Louisville has a tremendous collection of human beings. Leaders that do things the right way.

Scott Satterfield could completely tank. He could not be cut out for power 5 football. He could simply not be the right coach for the job. That much remains to be seen. However, what we do know is that Scott Satterfield is the right person for the job. And now, more than ever, that matters for the Cards.