LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- No coach comes to the football kickoff luncheon looking to make headlines. All right, maybe there are a few old-timers. Steve Spurrier. Bobby Bowden. Howard Schnellenberger would’ve talked for two hours to a crowd of 1,500 like the one Louisville coach Jeff Brohm spoke to at the Galt House on Friday.
Like the caterer, Brohm gave the crowd a little bit of red meat – but not too much. He came with an upbeat message about his team and thanks for his fan base.
Coming off a 10-win season and a surprise trip to the ACC Championship game, Louisville fans are expected to have purchased in excess of 40,000 season tickets before the Cardinals kick off in their home opener against Austin Peay on August 31.
Brohm spoke Q&A style with Jody Demling, and said he’s pleased with his team’s progress on offense, the way the newcomers and returnees have meshed together over the summer and the work ethic of the entire group.
His four most memorable responses, though, came when talking about defense, L&N Stadium, having his complete staff back for a second straight season, and having fans at seven open practices – more, according to Demling, than any other Power 5 program.
Below are his full, transcribed comments on those subjects.
Brohm on his defense
Jody Demling with Louisville football players (from left) Tyler Shough, Michael Gonzalez, Quincy Riley and Ashton Gillette at the program's annual Kickoff Luncheon on August 16, 2024, at the Galt House in downtown Louisville.
“I think we've improved, really, our defense in general. I think we’ve got a ton of depth. I really do. I think the defensive line is as deep as I've ever had, anywhere we've been. We've got a ton of guys that can play, along with Ashton (Gillotte), that have really done a good job. Even the newcomers are here, and they're here for a reason and purpose, just like (quarterback) Tyler (Shough) and other transfers, they've done a great job. I think our defensive secondary is as deep as I've ever had. We've got a ton of guys we can put in, and I think we need to have packages to get multiple guys in to get them on the field. They've done a great job through camp so far. And our linebacker position, while maybe not quite the experience and depth, it's improving every day. It has looked good. We've seen great signs, and just like last year, when you didn't quite know if you had enough experience at linebacker, they did a great job for us. So, we expect that to happen as well. But you know, I want our defense to be dominant. I know our coaches do as well. We want to go out there and play at an even better level and put up numbers even better than we did last year, and just really play, you know, dominant defense.”
On why he held open practices
Jody Demling and Louisville coach Jeff Brohm at the program's annual Kickoff Luncheon on August 16, 2024, at the Galt House in downtown Louisville.
“You know what? It's a tribute to, in my opinion, Howard Schnellenberger. I had a great chance to play for him, coach with him. And back in the day, he was the ambassador to allow fans to come to practice and be a part of it. He wanted that. He loved it. The more people there, the happier he was. You know, he loved a big crowd. So, for us, you know what? We consider our team, our team (gestures around the ballroom). So, anybody wants to be a part of it, come on out. You know, we want you to be there. Our players love having people at practice. It gets them motivated. It gets them wanting to impress some people. They know there's people there watching. We had plenty people come out to practice and I think it just makes it more fun. So, I enjoy doing that. You know, in college football now, coaches are paranoid. Probably nowhere allows open practices. Sometimes you might open one to fans, but they really don't show them anything. We practice. We practice what we run. We practice what we're going to run. And I don't really care who's there. So, you know, we love having the fans there. We're going to continue to do that. If it was up to me, and I didn't have my brother and a few others telling me, 'Hey, seven is enough. Seven is enough.' We'd open more. So you know, it just really is a lot of fun when you see people there that want to be a part of it, and our players love it, and you know, we'll continue to do that.”
On playing in L&N Stadium
Jody Demling and Louisville coach Jeff Brohm at the program's annual Kickoff Luncheon on August 16, 2024, at the Galt House in downtown Louisville.
“t's a credit to, Mr. (Josh) Heird (Louisville athletics director) and this administration. We've got a great setup here, great fan base. I tell people all the time, our recruits, you know, that stadium we have out there at L&N Stadium is as good as anywhere. We played in the ACC championship game. And, you know, I think it was a good stadium. But when I played, you know, it looked like a stadium I played in 30 years ago. It doesn't compare to L&N Stadium. I even tell recruits that, 'Look, we got one of the best stadiums in the country.' Now, when I say that, my son Brady, reminds me he saw an article a couple weeks after I said that comment, and the Carolina Panthers were putting $540 million into the stadium for improvements. So, I'm sure it'll be maybe a little better in years to come. But we've got a great setup. And when you fill that stadium, it's loud. People that come in there, there's not very many stadiums in college football that look like that. And these people love to tailgate. That's happened ever since I was a player. Now they get in the stadium. They love to watch football. They love to see this team compete against great opponents. And as you guys know, we've got a great schedule this year, and in future schedules, we're at Georgia. Georgia is here. We're at (Texas) A&M, A&M is here. And then you add Notre Dame in the mix and all of our conference games, I think that's what they want to see, and that's what we want to play in. And just like I told Mr. Heird, you know, we don't want that schedule to change. We want to play the best opponents. And if you want to be great and you want to say that you can get to the top, you've got to beat the best teams. So, we're looking forward to that. Obviously, we take it one game at a time and one season at a time, but that stadium we play in is fantastic.”
On having his whole staff back
“I'm shocked they still like me after that amount of time. But we do, we've got a great staff. They work really hard. They're really good people. I think as I've been a head coach, some of the mistakes I made along the way, sometimes you just look at accolades, and you don't look at the type of person that's, you know, deep down, what they're all about. And I think our coaches are great people, and they work really hard. They've all got different personalities, but they all love to compete. They love to win. I think when we go in the room, we're going to try to find a way to get better and improve, and we're not going to be scared to point the finger at ourselves, to figure out ways to get things done. You know, these guys love being here.”
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