What was widely reported on Monday became official on Tuesday: Scott Satterfield is the new head coach at Lousiville.
The 45-year-old North Carolina native, who oddly did not receive a sniff from North Carolina, went 51-24 in six seasons at Appalachian State, but that record obscures how impressive his run in Boone really was. When discounting his 11-13 start upon transitioning the Mountaineers from the FCS to FBS, Satterfield was 40-11 overall and 29-4 in Sun Belt play, including at least a share of three straight conference titles, including a 30-19 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in the inaugural Sun Belt Championship on Saturday.
While North Carolina passed on Satterfield in favor of re-hiring Mack Brown, Louisville successfully pounced after the school failed to lure hometown hero Jeff Brohm away from Purdue.
“When I set out looking for a new head coach, I recognized Scott early in the process as someone I was confident in leading this football program,” Louisville AD Vince Tyra said in a statement. “Following his career very closely, his teams are statistically very sound on both sides of the football. Both his offenses and defenses are ranked high nationally, and I valued how well-prepared and well-coached his teams have always been at Appalachian State.”
Satterfield will earn a $3.25 million contract over a 6-year contract.
“My family and I are extremely excited to be able to join this outstanding university and passionate community,” Satterfield said. “I’m so thankful to Vince Tyra and Neeli Bendapudi for giving me the ability to fulfill my dream. Words cannot express how grateful I am. I have two immediate obligations: mold these young men into productive members of society and put a competitive team on the field that’s going to work extremely hard to win games.
“I understand there are high expectations here, but as a program, we will do things the right way and develop men of high integrity and character. We will build a program that our fans will be extremely proud of on and off the field.”
Part of the reason Brohm spurned his alma mater, according to reports, was the nature of the Louisville roster. Bobby Petrino was never known as an eager recruiter even in his younger days, and it showed. The Cardinals, ranked as high as No. 3 in mid-November of 2016, were the worst team in the ACC this season and will leave Satterfield and his staff with a significant rebuild, which officially begins now.