Why Louisville football’s spring practice is a crucial next step for Cards

Louisville returns nearly its entire coaching staff

For the first time in what feels like forever, the main pieces on the Louisville football coaching staff are still intact as the season rolls over.

In Bobby Petrino’s last three years, he cycled through defensive coordinators, and prior to that, position coaches were shuffling across the board.

It’s not uncommon to see assistant coaches hop from one job to the next, but that’s why it is so important that Louisville kept the bulk of its staff in check.

Louisville does have a few small changes, namely new linebackers coach Derek Nicholson, who comes to the Cardinals by way of Southern Miss, and replaces Dale Jones on the staff.

Other than that, Louisville retains its offensive coordinator Dwayne Ledford, defensive coordinators Bryan Brown and Cort Dennison, and a slew of important position coaches.

This is the least amount of staff turnover the Cardinals have had since the Charlie Strong era, and that continuity is only going to pay dividends.

All returning players are already familiar with the staff and their nuances, and that is vital given how complex coaching major college football can be.

Now, starting right away on February 24th, the Cardinals can get down to business and resume where they left off seven weeks prior.