Louisville's Scott Satterfield did enough to save his job for the 2023 season. But when a landing spot came open to restart his clock and avoid an obvious hot seat situation, he jumped at the chance.
Satterfield on Monday left Louisville for Cincinnati, a rival school for U of L in four conferences, most recently the Big East. The awkward move is compounded by Sunday's Wasabi Fenway Bowl pairing, which pits Louisville versus Cincinnati in the revival of the Keg of Nails game.
Although Satterfield's departure is abrupt, he never seemed long for the Louisville job. Things haven't been great since 2019, when Satterfield won ACC Coach of the Year honors in his first season there. Satterfield's dalliance with South Carolina in December 2020 stung Louisville fans, a group of whom would never forgive him. Still, the Cardinals recruited well throughout the summer, returned talented quarterback Malik Cunningham and seemingly had a chance to challenge in the ACC. Athletic director Josh Heird, named to the permanent role in June, had overseen football and was viewed as an ally for Satterfield, even when many fans had washed their hands of him. But Satterfield never truly fit the job.
He is a good coach who went 51-24 at Appalachian State, his alma mater but always seemed much better suited to a job in his home state of North Carolina. Even South Carolina would have suited Satterfield better than Louisville did. A metro environment in a different region just didn't click.
The Louisville job is one of the better gigs in the ACC. The school has put money into the program and upgraded its stadium and other facilities. Louisville can access a wide recruiting pool and has had success in prospect-rich states such as Florida and Georgia, as well as in its own state/region. The Cardinals have been a consistent bowl team and recorded AP Top 25 finishes in four out of five years under Charlie Strong and Bobby Petrino.
Louisville's coaching search likely will take a different path from others in this cycle. There seems to be a clear coaching target for the program, a favorite son from the city's most celebrated football family. Louisville can't restrict its search to one person, so a moderate list of other candidates appears below, but there will be some level of surprise if U of L doesn't get its man this time.