It doesn’t get a whole lot more embarrassing for a program than this: UAB, according to ESPN’s Joe Schad, will lose head coach Garrick McGee to Louisville, where he’ll serve as Bobby Petrino’s offensive coordinator. McGee coached under Petrino at Arkansas as the Razorbacks’ quarterbacks coach (2008-2009) and offensive coordinator (2010-2011).
UAB is about as bleak a program as you’ll find at the FBS level, with McGee jumping ship after five wins in two seasons at the helm in Birmingham. The Conference USA school has just three winning seasons in 18 years at the Division I level, with the last coming in 2004 under Watson Brown -- the brother of former Texas coach Mack Brown.
Even though McGee’s Blazers went 3-9 and 2-10, losing him to an offensive coordinator job at a non-elite school has to be a kick in the teeth. It’d be one thing if it were Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, USC and the like -- but Louisville, despite the strides made in the last decade, isn’t part of college football’s top tier.