No more 'Unc': Deion Branch adjusting to Louisville coaching duties prior to Fenway Bowl
Deion Branch had grown accustomed to Louisville football players calling him "Unc," short for uncle.
It’s a term of endearment for the former Cardinals wide receiver, who returned to the program earlier this year to take the job as the team's director of player development. The position allows him to connect with the Cardinals in a more casual way. He’s the fun uncle you go to for advice and to hang out with. That’s changed somewhat since last week when Branch added "interim head coach" to his job title upon former Cardinals head coach Scott Satterfield’s departure to Cincinnati.
Branch will be coaching the Cardinals for the Fenway Bowl game against the Bearcats on Saturday before Jeff Brohm takes over as the program's head coach. Not only is the occasion surreal because Branch is coaching at his alma mater, but he’ll also be going back to Boston, the city where he spent most of his NFL career as a New England Patriot.
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“I'm just super thankful and grateful for the opportunity just to be here just to represent the university, represent the city and to represent these young men,” Branch said during a Dec. 5 press conference. “Just to send them out on top, that's the most important part for me.”
Branch is no longer Unc, but Coach. The relationship with the players is still there, but it’s taken on a firmer, more disciplinarian-like form. Of all his new responsibilities, the Georgia native said establishing that boundary has been the hardest part of the job so far.
“A coach is not your best friend, but he's your mentor,” Branch said. “He's the individual that's gonna guide you, and that's my job. There's so many guys that are still kind of looking at me as that uncle, that big brother. We had a conversation, but I’ve got to also remember that I have a job to do. I gotta lead this team out on the football field and the objective is to win the game.”
The reception to Branch’s change in position has been well-received by the Cardinals players, though. Cardinals quarterback Brock Domann called Branch “a lot of fun” and noted how Branch’s is emphasizing more situational work during practice because of his background in the NFL.
“I think he's done a fantastic job getting this team kind of back together, keeping us on the right path,” Louisville offensive lineman Bryan Hudson said. "I think that he's put together a great plan with the rest of the staff and just being able to put us in the right position to go win the game. So, I applaud him big time just for the job that he's done and continues to do for the team.”
Branch, even as a one-game head coach, is filling out his coaching staff. Only defensive line coach Mark Ivey, inside linebackers coach Greg Gasparato and tight ends coach Josh Stepp are still around from Satterfield’s coaching staff. All other position coaches either went to Cincinnati with Satterfield or found other jobs. Former Louisville offensive coordinator Lance Taylor took the head coaching job at Western Michigan, less than a year after securing his first OC gig with the Cardinals.
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In the spots where there is no position coach, Branch’s staff is filled out by graduate assistants and quality control analysts. In some ways, it’s an advantage considering both positions revolve heavily around scouting opponents and providing their findings to the coaching staff.
If Branch really needed the help, he said 30 of his friends with football backgrounds have offered to be part of his Fenway Bowl coaching staff. He mentioned former Cardinal linebacker Michael Josiah, who was signed by the Cleveland Browns in 2002, Las Vegas Vipers’ defensive coordinator Cris Dishman, former NFL Pro Bowler Dewayne White, Josh Minkins Sr., the father of current U of L safety Josh Minkins Jr. who also played at Louisville, former Cardinals defensive lineman Koby Clark and former Patriots running back Corey Croom as just a few of those who have offered their services.
“(They’re) just calling like, ‘Yo, if you need some help, I'm here,’” Branch said of his peers. “You just love that, man. It means a lot to me.”
While he doesn’t have an extensive background in coaching, Branch does have plenty of quality coaching influences, including his former Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick. Branch did not learn Belichick's fashion sense, so you won't find a hoodie on the sidelines at Fenway Park.
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What he did learn from Belichick, however, was the importance of being accountable.
“I think right now the accountability that I'm expecting from these guys is carrying out their assignment, taking what these coaches are asking of them each and every day,” Branch said. “They're putting their best foot forward, and I can see it. These guys are doing everything that we ask of them.”
When Branch was introduced as the interim head coach last week, he was bashful about fielding questions, telling media members he didn’t have any answers. But in the eight days since he’s taken on the responsibility, he’s figuring it out.
Even if it means no longer being the cool uncle.
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How Deion Branch is preparing Louisville football for Fenway Bowl
