Jeff Brohm changes the Kentucky-Louisville football rivalry — for the better

History tells us exactly what Kentucky football thinks of Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm.

Twenty years ago, UK tried to hire him. Rich Brooks had just come on board as Kentucky’s new coach. Jeff Brohm was embarking on his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater. Brooks was filling out his first Kentucky staff. Word was Brooks called Brohm. The two talked. Ultimately, Brohm stayed home.

A couple of decades later, in his first year as the Louisville head coach, Brohm is in the midst of a glorious return home, leading the Cardinals to a 10-1 record and a spot in the ACC championship game on Dec. 2. First, Louisville has some unfinished business, however, that being snapping the four-game Governor’s Cup losing streak Louisville drags into Saturday’s renewal against archrival UK.

“It definitely is a very, very important game that we’ve got to try to find a way to win,” Brohm said Monday.

“I would desperately like to keep that trophy here,” UK coach Mark Stoops said Monday.

The two respective fan bases may not have anything nice to say about the other, but that’s not the case with the coaches. When asked for his thoughts once U of L coaxed Brohm from Purdue, Stoops kiddingly said he hated it. He said he liked Jeff personally and knew he was a heck of a football coach.

“I wouldn’t say we’re great friends or anything, but way back when he was at Western (Kentucky) and we’d cross over at certain things,” Stoops said Monday. “I’ve always liked him. I said that in the summer, or when he was first hired, that I certainly like him and have a lot of respect for him and his brother (Brian). Coming from a family of coaches, much like ours; so a good man and has done a great job.”

He sure has this year. Brohm did inherit a program that went 8-4 last season under Scott Satterfield, but the 52-year-old former U of L quarterback has returned energy and enthusiasm to the program. He’s made terrific transfer portal finds, wide receiver Jamari Thrash and veteran quarterback Jack Plummer among them. And he runs a creative offense influenced heavily by his former coach, the late, great Howard Schnellenberger.

“I think that is what he does a nice job of, he keeps you off-balance,” Stoops said Monday. “He runs the ball well, they throw it very effectively, and then they have enough of the eye candy, or gadgets, or like us, sometimes on the perimeter, reverses, different things that keep you off-balance. I think they do a nice job in all those areas.”

Plus, the Cards have played lights-out defensively. In his second tour of U of L duty, coordinator Ron English has U of L ranked 17th nationally in scoring defense, 21st nationally in total defense. Louisville blanked Duke, held Virginia Tech to three points and North Carolina State to 10.

How Brohm has changed the dynamic of the Louisville-Kentucky rivalry is best described by a joke U of L athletic director Josh Heird made at the new coach’s introductory press conference: “I’ve been in this position as AD for 366 days, and you’ve made my life harder for 365 of those.”

Everyone in Louisville, as well as the state, knows the Brohms. Jeff’s father, Oscar, played at Louisville. So did brothers Greg and Brian, both now on Jeff’s staff. In fact, when looking for a new offensive coordinator of his own, Stoops reportedly interviewed Brian.

Big Blue Nation and Cardinal Nation might disagree, but what’s good for the rivalry is good for the state. It promotes interest, especially in football. Kentucky’s current Governor’s Cup win streak put pressure on Louisville to up its game. That the Cardinals have done.

So now here we are: Brohm vs. Stoops I on Saturday. Both teams are having surprising seasons. Louisville has been a pleasant 2023 surprise; Kentucky a disappointing 6-5. “Hopefully, we’ll have a little better record next go-round,” Stoops said.

Either way, Jeff Brohm makes this rivalry better.

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