Louisville football undoubtedly had the biggest upset of Week 7 as they went to Miami and beat the No.2 Hurricanes 24-21. This win kept the Cardinals’ season alive and, along with it, their ACC title hopes. This win also brought the Cardinals their first ranking of the season, as they now sit at No. 19. With this, the team is receiving more attention, particularly from coach Jeff Brohm.
Brohm is in his third season as the Cardinals' coach and has already demonstrated that he is the real deal for Louisville. He has a record of 24-9 at Louisville and was the first coach to lead the Cardinals to an ACC title game in 2023.
Brohm has had so much success in his coaching career that doors at programs such as Penn State and Florida are opening to him. However, it would be crazy to think he would leave Louisville to pursue these offers for numerous reasons.
Here are three obvious reasons why Brohm will be staying with the Cardinals.
3. It's Brohm's home
Brohm might have been named the head coach in December 2022, but his relationship with the Cardinals goes much farther back. Louisville is Brohm’s alma mater, as he played quarterback at the school from 1989 to 1993. As a three-year starter, he ranks in the top 10 in touchdown passes, total offense, completion percentage, passing yards, and completions.
He then returned to Louisville after his pro career to start his coaching career. From 2003 to 2006, he served as the quarterbacks coach. He then served as the assistant head coach and passing game coordinator in 2007, and ultimately advanced to the rank of offensive coordinator in 2008. Brohm then left to search for a bigger opportunity, but when the head coaching spot was offered to him, he left Purdue to accept it.
Louisville isn’t just home to Jeff Brohm, but the whole Brohm family. Jeff is only one of the four people in his family to play sports for the Cardinals. His father, Oscar, and his brothers, Greg and Brian, were also football players and attended the University of Louisville. They have left such an impact that the Brohm family was inducted into the Louisville Catholic Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
2. Better opportunity to win a conference title
The opportunity for Brohm and Louisville to win the ACC is right now. After defeating Miami, the Cardinals have gotten their toughest ACC opponent out of the way and even claimed a win in the process. Louisville is 2-1 in ACC play and doesn't face another currently ranked opponent for the rest of the season.
With how the rest of the season is laid out, there is a real possibility that Brohm leads the Cardinals to their second ACC title appearance in three years. With the legacy Brohm has previously established at Louisville and the one he continues to build, the Cardinals could remain atop the ACC for years to come.
On the other hand, if Brohm were to leave for either Penn State or Florida, the chances of him winning a conference title would decrease significantly. Penn State is currently 0-4 in the Big Ten, and in a conference that includes Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana, it would not be easy to turn things around. The challenge appears in Florida, with them being in the SEC. The Gators are 2-2 in their conference and have a gauntlet of a schedule, having played four ranked opponents and are slated to play three more.
1. Brohm is building a powerhouse
With Brohm at the helm, the past couple of seasons, Louisville football has thrived. As mentioned previously, it reached its first-ever conference championship in 2023, and Brohm was the first coach to win 19 games in two seasons at Louisville since 2014. Under Brohm’s control, the Cardinals have beaten four ranked opponents and beat their first top-five-ranked team since 2016.
The Cardinals have also been bowl eligible in both of Brohm’s previous seasons and only need one more win this year to make it three years in a row. Brohm has taken the time to build this program up and wouldn’t leave something this great for an opportunity with broken teams.
Brohm has also been looking to the future, as Louisville has 23 commits in the 2026 class so far. These young players have committed to the school to be coached by Brohm, and given his deep value for relationships, it would be tough to see him leave those players behind.