LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Dabo Swinney has won two national championships at Clemson and is itching to deliver a third.
When North Carolina football was looking for a coach who could make its football program competitive again, the Tar Heels looked past Scott Satterfield to Mack Brown.
Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech), Willie Taggart (Florida State) and Bronco Mendenhall (Virginia) were touted as Rising Stars at various points of their careers.
Those guys were among the favorites when the race for Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year began last fall.
Those five guys as well as eight others. On Thursday morning the award went to the guy who earned it -- Scott Satterfield of Louisville.
He bumped Cardinals from two wins to seven.
He directed Louisville to five victories over teams that squashed the Cardinals a year ago.
And, most importantly, he changed the outlook and vibe of the entire program from hopelessly discouraged to relentlessly upbeat.
The 46 media members and 14 ACC coaches who voted got this decision absolutely correct, honoring Satterfield for leading Louisville to a 7-5 season and a bowl trip that will be awarded Sunday.
With 23 first-place votes, Satterfield finished six ahead of Mendenhall, who coached Virginia to its first ACC Coastal Division title (despite a loss to Louisville). The other legitimate contender was Swinney, with 15 votes.
Hey, if Swinney wins his next three games, he might be national coach of the year. You can make that argument. But today, in the ACC, the argument is not as strong as the one for Satterfield. His team was overwhelming consensus pick to finish last in the ACC Atlantic Division.
The Cardinals finished second (7-5 overall, 5-3 in the league), handling Virginia, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Boston College and North Carolina State, five teams that defeated Louisville by a combined 136 points last season.
Some coaches get head coaching opportunities because of who they worked for, especially if there is a connection to Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops or Jim Harbaugh on their resume.
That was not what attracted U of L athletic director Vince Tyra to Satterfield after former U of L quarterback Jeff Brohm decided to stay at Purdue. Tyra loved the work that Satterfield did making Appalachian State the program to fear in the Sun Belt Conference.
Tyra loved Satterfield's roots in ACC country. And he loved Satterfield's personality.
Satterfield is not a chest-pounder, dictator or a master of one liners. If you pinned a microphone on Satterfield on the sidelines you wouldn't have to bleep out 75 percent of the things that he says.
He's just a solid, dependable, determined guy who walked into the most toxic situation in college football a year ago and made it a fun, productive place.
Near the end of Bobby Petrino's final season, Louisville football players were excited about two things -- getting to the last game and putting their names in the transfer portal.
Satterfield changed that. Month by month. Day by day. Encounter by encounter.
He earned the players' respect but he also earned something more important -- their trust. They stopped dreading going to the football complex. They discovered the joy of being motivated by encouragement, not fear.
This is the one way long-time U of L staff member explained it to me last spring:
"I learned that all the players had different first names. Until Scott got here, I thought everybody's first name was f$#*&%g."
It worked. From the first snap.
A Louisville team that was favored to be buried by Notre Dame on Labor Day evening was not buried. The game was close for a half before the Irish won 35-17. That, for the record, was a Notre Dame team that finished 10-2.
Satterfield said that was when he realized he had a locker room full of guys who believed in the path he set. It showed.
The Cardinals won a road game they weren't supposed to win against Wake Forest and then backed it up by running the ball for 227 yards to beat Virginia.
Those two wins were as good as any victories by an ACC team not named Clemson.
Yes, there were burps against Miami and Kentucky. It was Year One. The roster had major holes. Satterfield has only begun to collect more players and install his culture.
A year after Louisville football appeared to be facing a substantial rebuild, the Cardinals have direction, adrenaline and enthusiasm.
For that, you can credit the ACC coach of the year.
Copyright 2019 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.
