LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Three years ago, Scott Satterfield was voted the top football coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference after directing the University of Louisville to an unexpected 8-5 season.
Two years ago, he finished a 4-7 season with a clumsy flirtation with the South Carolina job.
Last year, after the Cards finished 6-7 for their second consecutive losing season, there was significant chatter than Satterfield would not be the guy on the U of L sidelines when the Cardinals opened 2022 at Syracuse Saturday night.
Satterfield is the coach of a team favored by 4 1/2 points to open a victory over an Orange program that U of L has pounded 71-3 the last two seasons.
Satterfield as well as his offensive coordinator Lance Taylor and defense coordinator Bryan Brown answered questions about the Cards and the Orange for more than 40 minutes Tuesday afternoon.
Here are three takeaways on Satterfield’s job security, the Cards’ dominance of Syracuse and the difference in this summer’s camp.
1.) Satterfield said he does not look at Coaching Hot Seat lists but understands that third consecutive losing season must be avoided.
“To me, I think every year is a crucial year,” Satterfield said.
“I mean, it doesn't matter you got to go win in this business. There's nobody wants to be average. Nobody wants to be below average.
“I mean, you have to go win football games. We all know that.
“We feel like we're headed in the right direction and have been heading in the right direction since we've been here.
WDRB's Eric Crawford recaps the weekly news conference.
“We've had a lot of tough things thrown our way over the last three years. You know, and we've weathered the storm we continue to fight and continue to battle and I approach every year that way. Nothing changes for me and our staff and how we approach it. It's been a great offseason. So we'll go out there and hopefully put a great product on the field and go win some games.”
And your reaction to be on any Coaching Hot Seat lists?
“I don’t react to it,” Satterfield said.
2. As I wrote Monday, Louisville punished Syracuse with its worst loss of the season in 2020 (30-0) and again in 2021 (41-3).
While that is likely bulletin board material in New York, it is meaningless to Satterfield. And he explained why.
“I don't put any stock in the last games,” Satterfield said. “Last year, year before that, I don’t put any stock in that.
“This is a new team. They have a new team. You got new coaches, new players, new environment, first part of the season, not the last quarter.
“There are so many different things that are going on right now that it doesn't have anything to do with. You know, this is this is the new year.
“And so for us, it's all about what we have this year, what they have, and then who can go out put the best game plan forward and which guys are going to execute the best.
“What I am happy about is the fact that we have a lot of experience. We have a lot older guys that have been thrown in the fire and they'll know how to react once we get in that environment.”
3. A different style schedule has led to a different preparation for the Cards this August.
Satterfield’s record in season openers at Louisville is 1-2. The Cards lost to Notre Dame, 35-17, in his first season here. They defeated Western Kentucky, 35-21, during the 2020 COVID-19 season and then lost to Ole Miss (43-24) in Atlanta last Sept. 6.
His overall record in season opener is 2-7 but the number is misleading because during Satterfield’s six seasons at Appalachian State his teams opened with Michigan, Tennessee, Georgia and Penn State.
With the Cards playing their first 2 on the road and 2 of their first 3 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents, Satterfield said he changed the summer camp regimen.
“Really, this camp has been a very physical camp for us,” Satterfield said. “We've really gotten after it as far as red-zone work, short yardage work … we knew we had a lot of work we had to do this fall camp.
“We wanted to be physical. We wanted to have a tough mindset. We want to be able to finish games. I think that's something we talked about this offseason.
“We know the ACC is a big time challenge. Week in and week out. With these teams, it's going to come down to a few plays here and there … and for us starting the season off with an ACC opponent, you better be ready to go.
“We know we've got a tough challenge ahead. When you think about the schedule, you know, arguably one of the toughest schedules in the history of Louisville football.
“I mean, think of all the teams that are ranked. You talk about starting out on the road the first two weeks with a short week and you think about Central Florida and then coming right back here playing Florida State. I mean, there's two conference games right off the bat and so we had to have a camp that way. Fortunately, we've come out of camp healthy. We feel like all of our guys are going to be ready to go.”
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