Jeff Brohm: What to know about Louisville's likely new football coach

It appears Louisville football has its man: Jeff Brohm looks to be coming home to coach his alma mater.

Brohm, a 51-year-old Louisville native who played for the Cardinals from 1989-93, is expected to be introduced Thursday afternoon as the successor to Scott Satterfield, according to a report from ESPN's Chris Low. Satterfield left the program Monday after four seasons to fill Cincinnati's head coaching vacancy. Brohm and U of L are "in the process of finalizing" a six-year, deal in the $35 million range, Low said.

Later in the afternoon, the university announced its Athletic Association Executive Committee, Board of Directors will hold a special meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday inside Cardinal Stadium. A news conference featuring athletic director Josh Heird and interim President Dr. Lori Gonzalez "related to the leadership of the football program" will follow.

Brohm's homecoming has been several years in the making.

In 2018, Brohm turned down an offer to return to his alma mater as head coach after Louisville fired Bobby Petrino. Explaining his decision at the time, the second-year Purdue coach said: "I believe it is important to finish the building process we have begun and honor the commitment I made to our football program, players and recruits. While going home was very appealing and meaningful to me, the timing was not ideal."

From 2018:Five things you may not have known about Louisville native Jeff Brohm

After Brohm declined its offer, U of L hired Satterfield, who went 25-24 with two winning seasons in four years.

With Brohm in line to make his much-anticipated return, here's what you need to know about the Cardinals' new head coach:

Jeff Brohm's coaching career

Brohm's most recent game as Purdue's head coach was the Big Ten Championship, which ended in a 43-22 loss to Michigan. With an 8-5 record, the Boilermakers are heading to the Citrus Bowl to face LSU, making Brohm just the second coach in program history to reach the postseason four times during his first six years at the helm.

Brohm's record at Purdue: 36-34 with three winning seasons.

More on Brohm:Jeff Brohm hired as Louisville's next head football coach: Report

Before taking over in West Lafayette, Indiana, prior to the 2017 campaign, Brohm was back in the Bluegrass State leading Western Kentucky to three consecutive winning seasons, each capped off with bowl victories. The Hilltoppers went 30-10 during Brohm's time as the head man in Bowling Green, where he also served as offensive coordinator under Petrino in 2013.

Other stops on Brohm's coaching journey include:

• University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2012

• Illinois, where from 2010-11 he coached the Fighting Illini's quarterbacks

• Florida Atlantic, where he spent one year coaching quarterbacks in 2009

And then, of course, he was at his alma mater in various positions under Petrino (quarterbacks coach, assistant head coach and passing game coordinator) and Steve Kragthorpe (assistant head coach and offensive coordinator).

Where it all started, though, was a head-coaching gig with the Louisville Fire, which played in the Arena Football League's AF2, in 2002. Brohm and the Fire went 2-14 during his first and only season with the team.

What was Jeff Brohm's Purdue contract?

Brohm signed a two-year contract extension with Purdue in April. That contract ran through Dec. 31, 2027, and included a $1 million buyout as well as a $600,000 retention bonus if he was still the Boilermakers' head coach on Dec. 31, 2022.

Jeff Brohm's playing career: Trinity, Louisville, NFL, XFL

Brohm did a bit of everything at Trinity High School, from serving as class president to leading the Shamrocks' football team on a state championship run.

Brohm, who attended Trinity from 1985-89, was a three-sport athlete who split time between the gridiron, the baseball diamond and the basketball court. He earned individual accolades in all three sports, according to his Hall of Fame bio on the school's website, but found the most success slinging the pigskin for the Shamrocks with his father, Oscar, coaching the team's quarterbacks.

As a junior in 1988, Brohm quarterbacked Trinity to an undefeated season and a Class 4A state title alongside his older brother, Greg, who was a senior All-State wideout on the team. Brohm was named Kentucky's Mr. Football that season, and the Shamrocks were dubbed the "Team of the Decade" by The Courier Journal.

Brohm threw for 1,707 yards and 20 touchdowns during his senior season while rushing for another 602 yards and 12 scores. He was honored as the Kentucky High School Player of the Decade (1980s) and became the first Trinity student-athlete to have their jersey retired after his career with the Shamrocks came to an end.

Choosing to stay home and play for Howard Schnellenberger at Louisville, Brohm backed up starting quarterback Browning Nagle as a freshman during the Cardinals' run to the 1991 Fiesta Bowl. He was handed the reins to the offense as a sophomore but suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2, a 28-11 loss to Tennessee.

Returning to the field for the 1992 and 1993 seasons, Brohm quarterbacked U of L to 5-6 and 9-3 finishes, respectively. His final campaign with the Cardinals as a player ended with a gutsy performance in an 18-7 win over Michigan State in the 1993 Liberty Bowl, for which he was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Decades later, Brohm still ranks among the top 10 of U of L's all-time leaders in passing yards (5,451), touchdown passes (38), completions (402), total offense (6,430) and completion percentage (.562). He was inducted into the Louisville Ring of Honor in 2006.

Brohm was not selected in the 1994 NFL Draft but eventually found a home in the professional ranks with the San Diego Chargers. He was the third-string quarterback and didn't see the field during the team's run to Super Bowl XXIX, which ended in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

From there, Brohm's journey around the NFL spans five teams (Washington, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Denver and Cleveland) from 1995-2000. Appearing in just eight games during that stretch − during his time with the 49ers and never once as a starter − he completed 63.8% of his passes for 353 yards and one touchdown.

On Oct. 28, 2000, the Orlando Rage selected Brohm with the fourth overall pick in the first and only draft for the original iteration of the XFL. After winning the starting quarterback job, he was named to the All-XFL's first team and owned the league's highest QB rating (99.9) during the 2001 season.

Brohm's signature moment during his time in the XFL was a now-viral pregame interview he did with NBC’s Chris Wragge before returning to the field six days after a vicious hit left him unconscious. When asked how he was able to start for the Rage so soon after suffering a concussion on the play, Brohm replied, "Let me answer that question by asking you two questions: One, is this or is this not the XFL? Yes, it is. Two, do I or do I not currently have a pulse? Yes, I do. Let’s play football."

'Let's play football':Jeff Brohm on his viral XFL mic-drop moment

Jeff Brohm's family tree: Brothers Brian, Greg on Purdue, WKU staffs

Brohm's brothers, Brian and Greg, were on his staff at both Purdue and WKU and are likely candidates to follow him home to Louisville.

Brian Brohm, who also starred at quarterback for Trinity (2000-04) and U of L (2004-07), has spent the past six seasons as the Boilermakers' offensive coordinator and QBs coach. Under his guidance in 2021, the unit broke school records for single-season passing yards (4,620), yards per game (355.4), completions (407), completion percentage (.708) and passing first downs (221).

On Wednesday afternoon, Sam King of the Lafayette Journal & Courier reported that Brian Brohm will be named Purdue's interim head coach upon his brother's acceptance of the Louisville offer.

Greg Brohm, who was a three-year starter at wide receiver for Louisville (1988-92), has been Purdue football's executive director of administration and operations/chief of staff for the past six seasons. He taught and was the head football coach at Bardstown's Thomas Nelson High School from 2012 to 2014 before serving as his brother's director of operations at WKU from 2014-16 and held a similar position at U of L from 2004-08.

Reach recruiting and trending sports reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Who is Jeff Brohm, Louisville football's newest head coach?