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During the ACC’s spring meeting a year ago, Jeff Brohm, Brent Key and Mario Cristobal shared a moment relishing in being football coaches at their alma maters.
Four months later, Brohm began his tenure at Louisville with a win, causing Key to start his official tenure at Georgia Tech with a loss. Brohm then defeated Cristobal’s Miami team on the road near the end of the season for the Cardinals’ first win at Miami, which allowed U of L to clinch a spot in the ACC championship game for the first time.
Despite losing the last three games of the season, Brohm’s first year at Louisville ended with the program’s seventh 10-win season. It’s one of the most successful campaigns a coach recently has had at their alma mater. Of the three ACC coaches, Brohm had the best start.
Although Cristobal had the more lucrative deal, signing a 10-year, $80 million contract, Brohm added $800,000 in bonuses and two years of extensions to his $5 million annual base salary by winning 10 games, making a Level 1-3 bowl game and the ACC title contest. Brohm’s six-year contract made him the fourth highest-paid coach in the ACC — behind Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Mike Norvell (Florida State) and Pat Narduzzi (Pittsburgh) — and 31st in the country.
And unlike Cristobal, Brohm and Key posted winning records in their first seasons after the former went 5-7 in his debut with the Hurricanes in 2022. Key was the only one to win a bowl game in 2023, ending Year 1 with a 7-6 record. Brohm went 10-4 after falling to USC in the Holiday Bowl, and the Cardinals were 18th in the final US LBM Coaches Poll.
Jim Harbaugh was one of the only other FBS coaches to lead his alma mater to 10 wins in his first season over the last 10 years. Harbaugh led Michigan to a 10-3 record and No. 11 final ranking in 2015. Brohm came to Louisville from Purdue, but…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jeff-brohms-debut-louisville-football-093336927.html
Author : The Courier Journal
Publish date : 2024-04-12 09:33:36
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