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Louisville football: 21st century All-Cardinal offensive team

By Ethan Sprowles

LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 14: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals runs for a 41-yard touchdown to tie the game in the fourth quarter against the Boston College Eagles at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. Boston College won 45-42. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 14: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Louisville Cardinals runs for a 41-yard touchdown to tie the game in the fourth quarter against the Boston College Eagles at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. Boston College won 45-42. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 02: Head coach Charlie Strong of the Louisville Cardinals is interviewed by sportscaster Chris Fowler as he celebrates their 33 to 23 win over the Florida Gators in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 2, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 02: Head coach Charlie Strong of the Louisville Cardinals is interviewed by sportscaster Chris Fowler as he celebrates their 33 to 23 win over the Florida Gators in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 2, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Head Coach – Charlie Strong

This one struck up some fierce debate among Big Red Louie contributors and our site experts, and I’m sure this will be an ongoing debate for Louisville fans for years to come. Hopefully our guy Scott Satterfield will be making a strong case for his spot as the top Louisville Football coach in the 21st Century, but as of right now, that spot belongs to Charlie Strong.

Charlie Strong took over the Louisville Football program in a very troublesome time. Just a few years after nearly missing the mark on a National Championship run, the program was in the gutter. Not to mention while conference realignment was reshaping the world of college sports, Louisville was on the outside looking in.

In year one, Charlie Strong managed to jump-start the program, going 7-6 and winning the Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl. He followed up with the same record in his second year, but the program was showing some serious promise with major momentum on the recruiting trail, a strong defense, and a special young quarterback by the name of Teddy Bridgewater.

The 2012 season is when Louisville exploded back onto the scene, starting 9-0, Louisville looked like one of the top 10-15 best teams in the country. Then, the Sugar Bowl happened. We all know the story. We were told we had no chance, in the now infamous words of Kirk Herbstreit right before kickoff against #3 Florida (to be fair to Herbstreit, nearly everybody else was saying the same thing, and the guy pretty much hasn’t picked against us since).

Charlie put together two of the best teams in Louisville Football history, produced arguably more NFL talent than any other coach in Louisville’s history, and brought the program back from the dead. His exit may have been pretty unceremonious, but Cards fans should be grateful for his work here, because it’s one of the main reasons we’re in the ACC now. Without Charlie, who knows where we’d be today.

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