I had so much fun debating the hirings of Matt Rhule and Luke Fickell that I decided to do it again, this time with Jeff Brohm and Scott Satterfield. Satterfield took Fickell's gig at Cincinnati, and Brohm subsequently replaced him at his alma mater, so it's a natural progression. Let's dive into it.
The case for Brohm:
While Satterfield's offenses had some ups and downs during his tenure in Louisville, you won't be able to say the same thing about the former Purdue coach. He's one of the best offensive minds in college football, and especially against some porous ACC defenses, they'll put up huge numbers. Additionally, he's got juice as a beloved alum and should be able to gin up more booster and NIL money.
The case against Brohm:
I'm still stupefied as to why he brought Ron English with him. His Purdue teams never could defend consistently, and he had an opportunity to get someone who is more innovative and could push their defense to a new level. English has a lot of value as a recruiter but has not put together even an above-average defense in quite some time.
The case for Satterfield:
While some people thought that it was a curious move to Cincinnati for Satterfield, in a lot of ways, it's a very strategic play. Cincinnati moves into the Big 12 this season, a conference that, especially with Oklahoma and Texas leaving for the SEC in the near future, will become wide open. Secondly, Cincinnati has been a great launching point for huge jobs. In the recent past, that job got Mark D'Antonio to Michigan State, Brian Kelly to Notre Dame, Butch Jones to Tennessee, and Luke Fickell to Wisconsin after being the hottest coaching commodity for two seasons. It's one of the best "stepping stone" jobs in the country, if not the best.
The case against Satterfield:
There were very few programs that have been less consistent on a week-to-week basis over the past few years than Satterfield's Cardinals squads. One week, Malik Cunningham looks like a first-team All-ACC player, and the next, he's turning the ball over five times.
The Verdict:
The move of Brohm back to his alma mater makes all the sense in the world on paper, and he is the better hire, despite some of the limitations. And we haven't seen all of the 'homecoming' coaches fare well in recent years (paging Scott Frost). But at the end of the day, Brohm is simply a better overall coach than Satterfield and will have a better infrastructure to work with.
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