As Louisville looks for No. 2 option, Cards can’t get over Neal Brown’s UK ties

Following Louisville’s failure to bring Jeff Brohm home from Purdue, decision makers at U of L have scrambled to arrive at a consensus No. 2 pick. A variety of names have floated through, but one coach seemingly fit for the job has a huge mark against him: Troy head coach Neal Brown.

Despite resurrecting Troy and upsetting LSU and Nebraska in consecutive seasons, Brown has been cast aside by several key decision makers at U of L because of both his connections to the University of Kentucky (the Danville, Ky. native walked on to UK as wide receiver before transferring to UMass and coached at UK under Mark Stoops) as well as specific comments he made about Louisville while he was an assistant for the Wildcats, sources told SB Nation.

“Hey, our fan base is one of the best, if not the best in college sports, because there’s no NBA team, there’s no Major League Baseball team, there’s no NFL team. So UK athletics is it,” he was quoted as saying in 2014. “The other team (Louisville) doesn’t want to hear that, but it’s it. We’re the show in town, in the state.”

Of all the candidates confirmed and even rumored for the Louisville job, Brown is the most connected in the state with high school coaches and recruits. The U of L job is a hot topic among high school coaches at the KHSAA state football championships currently taking place in Lexington.

Despite former Wildcat head coach Rick Pitino rebuilding Louisville’s basketball program and Kentucky grad Howard Schnellenberger doing the same for the football program in the ‘80s and ‘90s, there’s an ardent push by Louisville brass against anyone with Kentucky connections. In Brown’s case, many feel his comments and UK affiliation are simply too recent, negating the fact he might be the most qualified candidate after Brohm.

The most popular name entering Sunday morning is Appalachian State head coach Scott Satterfield, who is set to meet with U of L about the vacancy.

Last week, James Madison head coach Mike Houston told the media that he’d met with Charlotte about its head coach opening while also bemoaning the schedule of college football’s hiring cycle. On Wednesday, he informed Charlotte he’d take the job, causing Charlotte to shut down its interview process.

Also on Wednesday, East Carolina made internal moves to accelerate the firing of head coach Scottie Montgomery and made overtures to Houston.

Houston, who had verbally agreed to the UC job but had not signed a contract, went silent on the 49ers.

Charlotte publicly rescinded its offer to Houston, whose James Madison team was upset at Colgate in the FCS playoffs on Saturday. Afterwards, Houston told the media, “I made a mistake with some people I associated with this week, obviously,” Houston said. “And me telling them I wasn’t ready to do something, if that’s wrong, then I don’t know.”

Searches at Charlotte and ECU continue on. The 49ers have interviewed Austin Peay head coach Will Healy, who was slated to interview before Houston verbally accepted the job.

Houston remains a candidate for ECU, but sources have indicated he would pursue the Appalachian State job if Satterfield were to be hired away. Other names connected to ECU are former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones and Oklahoma assistant head coach Shane Beamer.

Despite reports stating there’s a deal in place, former Utah State head coach and current Utah assistant head coach Gary Andersen is not about to become the next head coach of the Aggies.

Andersen’s past, especially his abrupt departure from Oregon State as head coach in 2017, is working against him returning to Logan. Utah State is using search firm DHR and is currently assembling candidates.