Louisville football: Analyzing options for the new RB coach
Louisville football lost their running backs coach on Sunday to an SEC program.
On Sunday afternoon, it was reported that Louisville’s 2019-20 running backs coach, Norval McKenzie, would be leaving the Louisville staff and taking the same position with Vanderbilt in the SEC.
Sources: Vanderbilt is hiring Louisville RB coach Norval McKenzie as the new RB coach. He's a Vanderbilt alum and was a teammate of Clark Lea there.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 3, 2021
McKenzie is an alumnus of Vanderbilt that played running back for the Commodores from 2001-04. It seemed like a no-brainer kind of hire for Lea who is also a Vanderbilt alumni.
He is a very young position coach that has been one of Louisville’s best recruiters over his two seasons as the running backs coach. He is a tremendous loss for the program that will likely be very successful at his next destination.
After all, McKenzie was a huge reason Louisville was able to land one of the best running backs in the country in Trevion Cooley recently. His loss will be felt and Scott Satterfield will have to find his next man to coach the backs at Louisville.
With that being said, let’s look at some options that Satterfield could look to take advantage of.
Coastal Carolina Co-OC/RB Coach Newland Isaac
Isaac just helped the Chanticleers to an 11-1 season while they finished ranked for the first time in the program’s history.
Under Isaac, the Chanticleers rushed for over 200 yards per game and was one of the best rushing attacks in the nation.
If Isaac is ready to take a step to the next level of college football, he would be a great option for Louisville who has been hitting the Carolinas hard on the recruiting trail.
Former University of Oregon/Florida State RB coach Donte’ Pimpleton
Pimpleton was on staff with now Florida Atlantic head coach Willie Taggart when Taggart was with Western Kentucky, University of South Florida, Oregon, and Florida State. Pimpleton is originally from Louisville and had most recently been with North Carolina Central as a receivers coach in 2020.
Pimpleton played quarterback and wide receiver for Western Kentucky in the early 2000s.
He was known as an ace recruiter and him being from the Louisville area, he could be a huge addition to a staff trying to secure their home turf.
This is a potential hometown option with tons of experience at multiple places across the country. Pimpleton recruited Florida very well in his time with Florida State and South Florida.
University at Buffalo RB Coach Issac Reed
Reed is a young up-and-comer who just led the University at Buffalo to one of the best rushing offenses in the nation. Buffalo averaged over 280 rushing yards per game with him manning the running backs.
He just graduated from college in 2016 and was already a big part of Buffalo’s rushing success. This may be a shot in the dark as Reed has not had a ton of coaching experience. But he certainly must be raising some eyebrows among power five programs looking for a young, hungry, and talented coach.
Summary
Right now, it is very difficult to peg one specific coach to control the running back room. All of these above guys could make some sense for the role, but that remains to be seen as of right now.
Scott Satterfield has a ton of connections to the Carolinas, but he may be looking for a coach like Pimpleton or Reed to attempt to shake things up in recruiting.
A lot of what coaches are looking for in a position coach is a young and talented mind or an elite recruiter. Satterfield will certainly have his selection of a huge crop.
Could it be one of these three? Possibly.
We will keep you updated on any new developments regarding Louisville’s 2021 running backs coach.
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