Jeff Brohm has turned down the offensive coordinator job at Alabama to remain at U of L where he will coach under the new title of assistant head coach in charge of the passing game.
The announcement was made by new head coach Steve Kragthorpe at halftime of today's basketball game against Providence.
"In all reality it basically came down to a simple question I asked myself and that was, `Do I want to help the University of Alabama win a national championship or do I want to help the University of Louisville win a national championship'," Brohm said. "I felt the answer was easy and I chose Louisville."
When Brian Brohm grabbed the mic at midcourt, 19,000 Cardinals fans prepared to explode. But the junior, who has until Monday to make a decision, simply introduced Kragthorpe. The younger Brohm described Bobby Petrino's successor as "The coach that is going to lead us to where we want to go."
Are you really going to be happier
holding a clipboard?
As for Jeff Brohm, the former Kentucky Mr. Football winner from Trinity High School said the offer from Nick Saban at Alabama "came on fast" and was "intriguing." He also said that he didn't think his decision would impact his brother one way or the other.
"I would love to coach him again without question," Jeff Brohm said. "(But) in the end I had to do, not necessarily exactly what's best for me but what I think is the right thing to do.".
Kragthorpe keeping Brohm is huge for a new coach who was already drawing criticism from fans when news broke that a member of the first family of Louisville football might be lured away by an SEC power. He said when he was the offensive coordinator at North Texas in 1995 that he spent time at the San Diego Chargers camp, where Jeff Brohm was playing at the time.
"For three days, I sat by what I thought was one of the brightest minds as a player," Kragthorpe said. "I said if I ever get the chance to hire this guy I am going to do it and that guy was Jeff Brohm. I am excited he's going to be a part of my staff."
Kragthorpe also announced the hiring of seven other members of his staff, and said that the final assistant will either be named tomorrow or Monday.
Petrino holdover Mike Cassity will continue to be the co-defensive coordinator and work with the safeties, while Keith Patterson comes from Tulsa and will be the co-defensive coordinator and work with the cornerbacks.
Former U of L player Reggie Johnson will stay on the staff and be the linebackers coach, while former University of Kentucky assistant Mark Nelson will come from Tulsa and work with the defensive line and also be the special teams coordinator.
Brent Meyers, who Kragthorpe had recently hired at Tulsa, will be the offensive line coach and running game coordinator, while Greg Nord will stay on the staff as the tight end coach. Meyers had previously worked at Arizona State.
"I have assembled an unbelievable staff," Kragthorpe said. "But I want everybody to remember this is our staff. It's a good blend."
Let's do this