Jeff Brohm staying at Louisville, nearing extension after rebuffing Penn State interest

Jeff Brohm informed Louisville officials Wednesday that he is not interested in other jobs and will remain as the school’s coach, sources told CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello. Brohm and the school are involved in active discussions on a contract extension, Marcello reported. 

Brohm, who was reportedly pursued by Penn State for its opening, has a 27-12 (16-8 ACC) record in three seasons at Louisville, his alma mater. Brohm’s original contract signed in 2022 was for six years, $36 million, but by winning 10 games in 2023 his deal extended automatically to become an eight-year, $49.5 million deal. Now he is on the verge of another raise after an 8-4 campaign to stay at Louisville and continue building what the Cardinals hope can be a perennial ACC contender. 

Should the contract extension come to fruition, Brohm would join Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, BYU’s Kalani Sitake and Georgia Tech’s Brent Key among the prominent coaches inking new deals amid interest from Penn State (and others) in the coaching carousel.

What Brohm staying means for Louisville

Keeping Brohm is a big deal for Louisville because if he is willing to lock himself in to a long-term deal in this coaching market, it indicates that a massive job offer would be needed to pry him away from his alma mater. 

Under Brohm, Louisville has won at least eight games in each of his seasons at the helm. While the Cardinals have aspirations of a bit more and want to capture an ACC title and College Football Playoff berth, Brohm clearly raised the floor and gives them the chance to hit that ceiling. Brohm’s reputation for winning big games showed up this year with Louisville’s road upset of Miami, but the Cardinals didn’t close the season strong enough to their goal of making it to ACC Championship Game. However, there’s plenty of reasons for optimism in Louisville about what Brohm already built in three years. 

For Brohm to rebuff interest from Penn State, he must feel comfortable with the commitment of the athletic department and boosters to give him the tools he needs to build a contender in both the revenue sharing and NIL space. The Cardinals are 46th in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings for 2026, which is good for 12th in the ACC. 

Brohm was clearly a backup option for Penn State after its highly publicized pursuit of Sitake fell through on Tuesday. That may have pointed Brohm in the direction of sticking at a school where he is a beloved figure. As the carousel spins, schools find themselves missing out on dream candidates and opting for secondary options. We saw that at Auburn, Florida, Arkansas and, especially, Penn State. 

What Brohm’s decision means for Penn State

Brohm wasn’t necessarily the top name on the market, but his track record of success would have made him an easy sell to fans for any major program. He won at Western Kentucky and Purdue and has continued that track at Louisville; his candidacy at Penn State made sense. 

Brohm’s history of success, particularly in pulling off wins versus ranked opponents, made him an intriguing name for Penn State fans who have grown tired of falling short against the Big Ten’s best. Brohm was reportedly approached with an offer from Penn State on Wednesday, but declined. Now Patrick Kraft and the Nittany Lions’ brass must pivot again as the list of names to pursue continues to shrink dramatically. 

Cignetti was the initial pie-in-the-sky dream for the Nittany Lions before signing a monster extension, and Rhule’s connection to the program as a former player made him an obvious target before re-upping in Lincoln. Elko was another dream candidate, but his success in College Station this year ensured Texas A&M pulled him off the market. James Madison’s Bob Chesney, a Pennsylvania native, opted to go to UCLA with Penn State chasing others. Sitake took the most serious look at Penn State before getting locked down by a late push from BYU donors. Now, Brohm has done the same.  

The remaining list of names for Penn State to target is unclear. Duke’s Manny Diaz has a connection as a former defensive coordinator at Penn State, and despite a 7-5 record the Blue Devils are, somehow, headed to the ACC title game. Outside of Diaz, there aren’t a lot of established college candidates for Penn State to turn to. There are rumblings that recently fired New York Giants coach and former Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll could be among the considerations as the Nittany Lions shift to Plan B (or C or D).